The Chronicles of AMC
by Silver Warrior
Summary: This is the story of heroes, great and small, coming together to fight against the greatest evils to ever live. Disclaimer revised and chapter three up.
1. Disclaimer

Disclaimer: This story is a crossover of many animes, cartoons, TV shows, books, video games, comics, manga, and movies. I can't list them all, but rest assured that I own very little beyond the basic ideas of the story itself that shows up here. Among the foremost things in here that I do not own where stuff I use comes from are as follows below with their owner in parentheses -  
  
Dragon Ball Z (Akira Toriyama); Dragon Ball (Akira Toriyama); The Legend of Zelda video game series (Nintendo); the Final Fantasy video game series (Square); the Mario video game series (Nintendo); the Street Fighter video game series (Capcom); the Mega Man video game series (Capcom); the Highlander movies (um, not sure); Highlander: The series (Gaumont Productions); Highlander: The Animated Series (not sure); and Yu Gi Oh! (Bandai, I think); Microsoft (Bill Gates I do believe); Macintosh (damned if I know. I'll just say Macintosh for the time being); all of the incarnations of Power Rangers (Saban); Big Bad Beetleborgs (Saban); VR Troopers (Saban); The Lord of the Rings (J.R.R. Tolkein); Independence Day (20th Century FOX); the Mortal Kombat video game series (Acclaim); all of the Star Trek series' and movies (um, not exactly sure); Star Wars (Lucasfilms); X-Men, Spider-man, Blade (though I'm going by the two movies), the M'kraan Crystal, mutants, Wolverine, the incredible Hulk, X- Men: Evolution, and the X-Men movies (Marvel Comics); Superman, Batman, the Justice League, Green Lantern (all of them), Stell, the Flash, the Eradicator, Darkseid, Sentinel, the Teen Titans, Superboy, and Doomsday (DC Comics); Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel (Mutant Enemy and Joss Whedon); all of the incarnations of Mobile Suit Gundam (I really have no idea); Inu Yasha (not sure); the various incarnations of Transformers (not sure, various people I assume); all three incarnations of Zoids (not sure); the Breath of Fire video game series (Capcom); the Fatal Fury video game series and King of Fighters video game series (formerly SNK, now Capcom); Spawn (Image comics, though I am going by the movie); Rurouni Kenshin (not sure, is also known as Samurai X); Yu Yu Hakusho (Funi, I think);  
  
I'll update this periodically as new whatever comes into play, or the possibility of it. It would be very tedious making this disclaimer for every chapter. Make sure you read this with every new chapter in case I do add something. It might be a while before something is added since I may have already covered everything. 


	2. Prologue

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize from an official anime, TV show, comic, book, video game, movie, cartoon, card game, or manga. Anything else nobody recognizes except from one of my other works is owned by me. I can't tell everything that I don't own specifically because that would be a list longer than this here prologue.  
  
~~  
  
Imagine, if you will, a world very similar to our own. Many historical events are identical, many people are the same. But some things are vastly different.  
  
While the theories of plate tectonics are correct, modern day scientists have their timetables all wrong. The current places of the continental plates was not achieved after millions of years. No, it was all done in less than a thousand years. The people of Atlantis were selfish and arrogant, thinking themselves better than the rest of the world. So they used their unbelievable power of magic and caused the continental plates to break and shift. In little over four hundred years, the continents were where they are today, relatively speaking.  
  
Years went by and Atlantis sank, just as the myths say, roughly twelve thousand years ago. From its ashes rose the Clans, created from the various castes that ruled Atlantis. The Eldryn were once the nobility of Atlantis. The Atalantari were the commoners and craftsmen of Atlantis. The Clan Green was made up of the former scientists, wizards, sorcerers, sages, philosophers, and others of great learning of Atlantis. These three Clans were the Great Clans, and they ruled the Earth.  
  
Then, roughly six thousand years ago, a great and terrible army swept across the land of the Clans. No one knows where this Horde came from, but it is speculated that it had something to do with the fall of Atlantis.  
  
Only five people survived the destruction of the Clans. And even then they did not truly survive. They were slain in battle, but they were reborn as Immortals. They would live forever, dying only to be brought back to life as long as their head was not severed from their shoulders. The five young ones went out among the world, hiding what they were and casually manipulating events for the better good.  
  
Now, six thousand years after the destruction of the Clans, great evil once again looms over the horizon. But this time, it does not only threaten the Earth, but it threatens the entire universe and the very fabric of reality. And only a handful of people hold the key to the salvation of all free people.  
  
~September 24th, 2001 AD~  
  
A young man, looking to be about 18 years old, walks through the drizzle towards an old building. It didn't look like much, but it was for sale. After walking inside and inspecting the building, particularly the large cave system beneath it that the owner's did not know about, he bought the property. Enough land to open a theme park. The building was large, nearly thirty stories tall, and it would be unimaginably deep after he was done with it.  
  
Raising his right wrist, he types in some digits on the cell phone part of his multi-use watch, made by Microsoft.  
  
"Hello? I would like for you to put an ad in the paper. Rooms for rent, reasonable pricing."  
  
He gave the person on the other end a name to ask for and a phone number to call. Within a few days, things would be set up. The people within whom the magic event lines, the ki lines, flowed would be drawn to this place, where he would soon be overlapping the event lines so tightly that only a few would be able to move them if it was ever needed.  
  
With a sigh, the young man turns to face his work. The building was run- down, yet still in almost impeccable shape. The structural support was sturdy, and soon nothing short of a earthquake capable of leveling a city on the other side of the world would be able to shake its foundations.  
  
Rolling up his sleeves, the person goes to work, magical energy arcing around his body as he subtly changes the building to suit his needs. Oh yes, this place would do nicely. It would serve as a nice place to host the Gathering.  
  
~On the other side of the world~  
  
An attractive young woman with blonde hair and startling blue-green eyes is trekking through a jungle to an old temple. It had been nearly five hundred years since she had last been here. She was surprised that it took her this long to remember that she left a pendant here that she would need someday. She could have flown, or teleported, or just opened a rip in Space and Time and walked through it, but nothing left the satisfaction of traveling on foot. Too bad she had started in England and the temple was in the Congo, hidden from prying eyes.  
  
Taking a moment to incinerate a highly venomous snake with a ball of magic fire, she stops to take in her surroundings. Confound it! She had taken a wrong turn back at the waterfall. Oh well. The dip in the cool water had been refreshing, even if she had ended up taking flight to avoid a few of the waters more predatory inhabitants.  
  
With a sigh, she turns around and heads back to the waterfall. She had a lot of ground to cover. After all, she still had nearly a thousand miles to go, and that was if she took the direct route.  
  
Which she wouldn't. She never did anything the easy way. She just hoped that she made it back in time for the Gathering.  
  
~The Vatican City~  
  
After living among the Knight Templar for a decade, a young man is finally going out and about in the world. The Knight Templar were a nice bunch, but they were too serious about their faith, even for a young man who had dedicated the last two millennia in the service of the Christian God. Of course, things had really changed from the persecution at the hands of the Romans to it becoming the central religion and creating the Holy Roman Empire.  
  
With the use of some disguise implements, he had managed to make them think he had aged within that decade. Not that he had, that is. Nothing could age him short of some very powerful magic, and then he would slowly revert to his current physical age. If he became his chronological age, he'd become dust. Or maybe a fossil, but most likely dust.  
  
Checking to make sure that the sword he carried away as a sign of his service as a Knight Templar, blessed by the Pope himself,was still on his waist, he goes on his trek to find the place of the Gathering. Ten years out of The Game was nice, but no one could run from it forever.  
  
~In a small shrine in Thailand~  
  
After living here for twenty years, the young man had developed a kinship with the monks. It pained him that they were slaughtered by marauders while he was away on a trip to a city for supplies. Now he was tracking the killers to make them pay for what they had done. He was glad that he had decided to stay another week before heading to the place of the Gathering. If he had left when he had planned to, then he wouldn't have been able to avenge the peaceful monks.  
  
The group of marauders was not large, at least not compared to some that he had faced. Maybe thirty men, all heavily armed with various handguns, knives, and various older weapons such as swords and spears. One guy, possibly the leader, carried a semi-automatic and a glaive.  
  
Then he feels it. The same old feeling that he got whenever another one of his kind was around. Through the years, he had been able to perfect this talent to determine the Immortal's exact location.  
  
It was the guy with the glaive.  
  
And the guy knew someone was about, but not where. He orders two big men to go out and look. The stalker slays them effortlessly and then begins his systematic work of the entire marauder camp.  
  
Within the space of five minutes, all but the other Immortal is dead. Drawing his sword, the young stalker goes on to finish the fight and take the head of the evil beast who would slaughter the defenseless monks.  
  
~Somewhere in Mexico~  
  
A young woman, possibly no older than 13 by physical appearance, steps out of the bar where she had just finished a brawl. Nearly twenty drunks all coming after her either to kill her or do other things to her, and she had taken them all down without much difficulty. Using a disguise spell, she disguises herself as a woman of about six years more in age. In fact, it would be how she would look if she were allowed to age six years.  
  
But no, the participants in The Game could not age. The Game had to take place over the course of millennia so its participants had to be Immortal and ageless. She hops onto her motorcycle, a birthday gift from one of her brother's back in the Thirties, and takes off, heading north. After all, she couldn't be late for the Gathering.  
  
~Unknown~  
  
He watches the Earth and all that transpires from his place in Purgatory, an offshoot of Limbo. These Five had escaped him six thousand years ago. Their ancestors had escaped him twelve thousand years ago. And now these children would fall at his hand once again. Only this time, they would not return to life.  
  
And it looked like he had some allies in taking on the oldest and strongest of these five.  
  
Bearing an unfounded hatred, he stalks the eldest of the Five with a passion unlike any other hunter could possess. Yes, he would be most useful.  
  
Born of a Dark Quickening, he had somehow been spared the fate of the loser of a Dark Quickening Battle Within. He had become a corporeal, able to fight and kill. And hunt. He hunted his other self, the one who was Chosen by the Power of Silver to lead the fight against Evil itself. Little did he know that there were others like him who would instantly take up his quest the moment he died or no longer continued his quest. And the former would likely happen before the latter.  
  
A warrior, strong and noble, possessing a power foreign and dangerous to all, he hunts the Chosen One. His mighty sword ready to cleave his foes in half, he seeks to destroy all who serve Good. And he would start by eliminating the foremost Warrior of Good, the Chosen One of AMC.  
  
A Master Assassin, bearing the power to steal the bodies of others for himself and send their souls on to their final resting place. He fights for money or his own reasons, whichever take precedence in each new job. He would fight the Chosen One of AMC, but only because the Chosen One would seek out to destroy him when he learned of how he gained power.  
  
Many people were drawn by the ki lines and the event lines to the location known as AMC City. It was technically part of the United States, in the state of Tennessee, but people merely called it AMC City, even when writing letters. People the world over knew of it. The city rebuilt upon the accidental atomic destruction of the city that used to be there.  
  
Yes, the time of the Gathering was upon the world. A Gathering not only of Immortals, but of others. It was a sign of the Endtimes, the time when Good and Evil face each other in their final struggles.  
  
~~  
  
Well, how was that start? Not my best, I'll admit, but its good enough. Please review. This story is my pride and joy and I really want to learn what others think of it. 


	3. Chapter 1: The Gatherng Begins

After a month of living in AMC City, everything was going well for Jesse Plunk. The building he had recently bought was doing incredibly well for itself as he rented it out as an apartment complex that was more along the lines of a luxury suite for each renter. He didn't charge much, as he actually didn't need the money. The only things he was actually paying for were the cable services and a few basic utilities. The electricity was generated by a supposedly experimental fusion engine that in truth provided the power to most of AMC and a good portion of the eastern United States without anyone but a few choice government officials being the wiser.  
  
Water was supplied from an underground spring whose depths and actual size had yet to be determined officially. Unofficially, it was about two miles deep and a good seven miles in area. Of course, only a handful knew this.  
  
The phone lines were owned by Microsoft, which in truth Jesse had founded. Of course, no one realized this. He merely guided others using a bit of simple mind alteration and psychic inducement to give them ideas and keep them from making any mistakes at all in their research. In other words, they worked flawlessly and profits were far beyond what anyone except himself knew.  
  
And oh how he had laughed when the world had worried about Y2K. First, the computer aspect, while serious, was no problem. He had already figured the answer to that problem back in the third century B.C.. As for the Christian religious aspects, since the founding of the A.D calendar was done hundreds of years after Christ's reported birth, they were off by a few years. The true year two thousand, as they thought they were recording it, had taken place years ago. The only thing that had happened was the ending of another thousand years imprisonment by a dark evil that was defeated by the Highlander, Duncan Macleod of the Clan Macleod, a young Immortal whose name was legendary among Immortals and Watchers alike. He had a habit of surviving things Jesse himself might have balked at.  
  
"Well, its almost time to get something to eat," Jesse muses as he closes another window on the computer screen, "I wonder if Pierre has figured out how to properly prepare red Moblin Meat yet? Maybe I should tell him. Then his profits will really skyrocket."  
  
Jesse didn't really care for money. Why, a person could live steadily from just his yearly tax returns from an infant to living to be a hundred. A hundred and fifty if they spent their money wisely.  
  
Not to mention the fact that he actually knew how to turn lead into gold and wood into silver either by scientific, magical, or even psychic means.  
  
"I wonder when the others will arrive?" Jesse asks himself, "they should have noticed my tampering with the world's ki lines the day I did it. The MOMENT I started tampering with them in fact. Maybe they're too deep into their current lives to take care of things without causing a lot of heartache. I know none of them are dead. Without our sub-psychic link, we'd have felt it if one of us died."  
  
Jesse's stomach growls, telling him that it's empty and talking to himself would not fill it up.  
  
"Well, I guess it is time to eat," Jesse muses. He closes out the program on the computer and heads out of his apartments and gets into the elevator and presses the button that will take him to the kitchen and Pierre's Bar.  
  
Pierre's Bar was a hotspot for teenagers in the city of AMC. It didn't serve alcoholic beverages to those under the age of fourteen and it obeyed all the laws set for such establishments. There were only two abnormalities about it: it was almost outside of the city limits, well away from two of the three high schools, and it was underneath a house that doubled as an apartment building. If fact, its kitchen doubled as the buildings kitchen.  
  
"Hey Pierre, you got any of that special meat only this place seems to have?" a dark-haired young man asks.  
  
And Pierre's Bar was home to a trend that was quickly catching on over the rest of the city and even the rest of the country.  
  
"Speed Demon, how nice to see you not almost-hitting people in your car," Pierre says with his French accent. The dark-haired teen's face flushes.  
  
"I haven't run anyone down yet," the teen known as Speed Demon for his reckless driving at incredibly high speeds retorts.  
  
"Only because we all quickly learned how to dodge," Pierre snaps, "would you like anything to drink?"  
  
"Yes, some Pepsi would be nice," Speed Demon replies, "make it a medium."  
  
"One order of Moblin Meat coming right up," Pierre says, "would you like the red or the blue?"  
  
"The blue please, done medium well," Speed Demon replies, "you know nobody orders the red. It's dangerous around fire and a few of your patrons smoke."  
  
"I know the red is dangerous," Pierre mutters, "and I wish I knew how this place never seems to run out of food."  
  
When Pierre returns, he hands Speed Demon his food and drink and Speed demon pays him. Then a strange young woman enters from the outside entrance and sits down at the bar.  
  
She had long golden blonde hair that reached her shoulders and sky blue eyes. Her bearing seemed a little odd, as if she was expecting to be attacked. But her demeanor was cheerful and friendly, if a bit secretive.  
  
"What will be your pleasure, mademoiselle?" Pierre asks the stranger.  
  
"I'll have the Moblin Meat, red, medium well, and a glass of Benadouchi, 1934," the young woman asks.  
  
"May I see some ID?" Pierre asks.  
  
The woman shows him her ID and Pierre goes off to fix the woman's order. Speed Demon looks at the young woman with something akin to pity, thinking she doesn't know what she's getting herself into by eating red Moblin Meat.  
  
Pierre brings back the order and places it before the young woman. She pays him. She then takes out a matchbox, pulls out a match, lights it, and drops it onto the Moblin Meat. The meat catches fire, but it quickly goes out.  
  
"There, now I don't have to worry about any unpleasant surprises in gaseous emissions after eating this," she says as she takes a bite out of the meat as Pierre and Speed demon ogle her in amazement, "red Moblin Meat is so delicious, but its also so dangerous since so few know the ways to prepare it, and most of those people have no way of passing the knowledge down."  
  
"That's amazing," Pierre gasps, "if I set fire to the meat after it is cooked in an oven, it will be safe to eat?"  
  
"Actually, Moblin Meat is supposed to be cooked over an open fire," the young woman replies, "but not many restaurants are able to do this. I'm surprised you even have any Moblin Meat at all. Its extremely rare."  
  
"What kind of animal does Moblin Meat come from?" Pierre asks.  
  
"Sorry, that's a special secret that only those who gather the meat know, and they are sworn to secrecy," the young woman replies.  
  
"Well, thank you anyway for showing me how to fix it after cooking to make it safe to eat," Pierre says, "I am Pierre, owner of this establishment. You are the only person I have seen in a long time who will eat red Moblin Meat."  
  
"Well, isn't that interesting," the young woman replies, "my name is Elizabeth. I'm a bit of a wanderer. I love to travel, but every now and then I spend a while in a place and build myself a life there."  
  
"Well, if you are looking for a place to stay, you could try the House," Pierre offers.  
  
"The House?" Elizabeth asks after taking a sip of her wine.  
  
"Pierre's Bar is located underneath the House," Pierre replies, "the owner rents it out cheaply, but he doesn't let many stay here. It wouldn't hurt to ask him. It's about time for him to come down and eat anyway. He rents the dining area and kitchen out to me."  
  
"Thank you, and please come again," the female automated voice of the elevator says when it reaches the appointed floor, "please take ticket."  
  
Grudgingly, Jesse takes the ticket, knowing full well what it was. He didn't know why he let Pierre talk him into putting that blasted ticket machine in the elevator. The tickets ranged from free meals to free passes for games to even free play at the game that the Bar was famous for: Spin the Bottle. And Jesse always got Free Spin the Bottle tickets. And since the moment he touched them they were encoded to his DNA, he couldn't sell them to anyone or give them away. And Pierre was adamant about enforcing that rule.  
  
However, for some strange reason, something business arrangement always called him away on Spin the Bottle nights. How peculiar.  
  
But now Jesse had an odd feeling of dread. He wasn't sure what it was, but he could feel that something was nearby, hiding from him.  
  
However, since none of the enemies he had that were mortal were due for another week, Jesse relaxed, knowing that whatever it was would likely be an inconvenience at the worst.  
  
He walks into Pierre's Bar and posts Pierre chatting with a lovely young blonde. His heart skips a beat when he sees who it was. He now knew the source of his ominous feeling.  
  
Grinning, he walks over to the bar and steps up behind the young woman. He motions to Pierre to keep silent. Deepening his voice, he speaks in a friendly matter of a guy desperate for a talk with a pretty young lady that would hopefully lead to something in the way of getting some 'action' later on.  
  
"Excuse me miss, mind if I sit here beside you?"  
  
Elizabeth turns around to glare at him, talking as she turns around. "Listen you, if you testosterone-laden men don't stop bothering me, there'll be body parts scattered everywhere. I already have a boyfriend."  
  
She goggles at Jesse the moment her eyes meet his.  
  
"I'm glad to hear it," Jesse grins, his voice returning to normal, "been a long time Elizabeth."  
  
Jesse takes her right hand and lifts it to his lips, planting a gentlemanly kiss on it. "I take it you are awed by my inspiring presence as always."  
  
"You wish," Elizabeth scoffs, a twinkle of merriment in her eyes, "but it seriously has been too long since we last saw each other."  
  
"You were the one who wanted to travel separately," Jesse replies, "have you had any contact with the others lately?"  
  
"Well, I did talk with Alex when I made a stop in Rome last year," Elizabeth replies, "he was doing very well for himself. He's doing the usual stuff."  
  
"I don't think he'll ever change," Jesse chuckles, "no word from Adam or Laci?"  
  
"Nope," Elizabeth says, "no, that's no true. I got a letter from Adam a while back saying he was studying in a monastery with some Buddhist monks. As for Laci, I think she's just roaming the highways on that motorcycle you gave her for her birthday."  
  
"Adam as a monk?" Jesse goggles, "now that was unexpected. I'd have expected something like that from Alex and even myself, but not Adam."  
  
"I think he's trying to learn to control his temper," Elizabeth replies.  
  
"That explains it," Jesse says, "that temper of his was always getting him into trouble."  
  
"Mostly with you," Elizabeth points out as she takes another sip of wine.  
  
"Benadouchi '34?" Jesse inquires. Elizabeth nods.  
  
"You two know each other?" Pierre asks.  
  
"Remember how I kept turning down every guy who wanted to sit with me by saying I had a boyfriend?" Elizabeth asks, "well, Jesse's him. I take it you're the owner of the House, I presume?"  
  
"And Pierre's very silent partner," Jesse says, "I keep the pantry stocked, he sells the food and brings business to this part of AMC. I eventually plan to help open up a few other businesses and get this area booming. Bring jobs and the like here."  
  
"You always were the business entrepreneur," Elizabeth chuckles.  
  
"Pierre, I'll have my usual," Jesse says, "and make it medium rare this time. Doctor recently told me I need to eat my meat a bit more raw."  
  
Pierre nods and walks off to prepare the food.  
  
"Was that doctor bit true?" Elizabeth asks, "as I remember, it, the only 'doctor' you've allowed to examine you in years was Alex. Or does that witch doctor back in Puerto Rico count?"  
  
Jesse groans at that memory. "Are you ever gonna let me live that down?"  
  
Elizabeth eyes him carefully. "Jesse, even if you live to be a million we'll never let you live it down."  
  
Jesse sighs and takes the plate holding his dinner from Pierre. It was a sort of salad of meat, consisting of mostly red and blue Moblin Meat and chunks of beef in a rich and spicy marinade with a glass of Benadouchi 1933 to wash it down.  
  
"The Benadouchi '34 is a good year, but the '33 is even better. It has a much more fruity taste," Jesse says as he takes a sip of his wine.  
  
"I thought you didn't like wine?" Elizabeth asks, "what about that, er, problem you had last time me, you, and the others went drinking?"  
  
"Oh, that?" Jesse laughs, "I took care of that. Turns out it was simply Lucky screwing around with me again. I think he's still licking his wounds."  
  
Elizabeth blinks, but says nothing else.  
  
Jesse and Elizabeth chat away, reminiscing about old times, never once mentioning a specific year.  
  
As closing time for the Bar comes to pass, Pierre walks up to his silent partner.  
  
"So this is why you kept turning down those schoolgirls who flirted with you," Pierre chuckles, "she is a pretty one. You could easily do worse."  
  
"Yeah, I could have taken up with one of those schoolgirls," Jesse says blandly, "the whole lot of them, with maybe one or two exceptions, don't have the combined brainpower to add up two and two. The exceptions are a decent sort. I'd actually talk to them if they weren't such flirts."  
  
"They only see you as a way to money," Elizabeth says firmly.  
  
"Only if by easy money you mean free rent here at the House and free meals in Pierre's Bar," Jesse laughs.  
  
"I see," Elizabeth says.  
  
"Yes, not many know about Monsieur Jesse's extensive funds," Pierre says, "in fact, he only told me that he was doing well enough to run the Bar and the House like he does. I don't see how he turns a profit, but I have never seen him complain about bills or anything."  
  
"Well Elizabeth, would you like to see your room?" Jesse asks, standing up.  
  
"Yes, and we can talk about old times some more," Elizabeth says with a fond smile, "particularly your most embarrassing moments."  
  
"Just great, I love being embarrassed," Jesse grumbles as the two of them head for the elevator.  
  
"Jesse, why did you try using that fire spell on the ticket?" Elizabeth asks.  
  
"Because those tickets are evil," Jesse replies as he once again tries to rip the ticket to shreds. How in the world did Pierre manage to make these tickets so durable that even I couldn't tear them up?  
  
"And how is a slip of paper evil?" Elizabeth inquires.  
  
"Pierre has various games and the like and one of them is Spin the Bottle," Jesse replies, "for some reason, I always get Free Spin the Bottle tickets. I have to create all sorts of excuses to keep from being forced to participate. If you are in the area on Spin the Bottle night and you have a Free Spin the Bottle ticket, participation is mandatory."  
  
"Oh, poor Jesse," Elizabeth laughs, "you always did have bad luck in everything except fighting and saving people."  
  
"That hasn't changed in 6,000 years," Jesse says, "you're the closest I've ever come to a steady girlfriend."  
  
"And we've only been on one date," Elizabeth adds, "not much of a steady relationship."  
  
"Can we even call that night a date?" Jesse asks, "as I recall, it was a perfect example of Murphy's Law. Not a single thing went right. We ended up getting into five fights with other Immortals each, ten bar fights, three shootouts with gangsters, had to avoid two hit squads, and ended up having to save the world from an ancient evil that we thought we had sealed away in ancient China that was accidentally released by a bunch of street kids."  
  
"It was one exciting night," Elizabeth agrees, "but before all of that happened, it was still nice. By the way, have you even looked for someone?"  
  
"Elizabeth, even though we are approaching the end of the Game, it may still be a hundred years before it is over," Jesse says sadly, "how can I put anyone through that? Watching me stay the same while they grow older and older until they pass away from old age."  
  
"Tis a sad and lonely life, being an Immortal," Elizabeth agrees.  
  
"Have you found anyone recently?" Jesse asks, "I know you hadn't found anyone since we last met."  
  
"Nope, still been single," Elizabeth says.  
  
"You know, we're probably the oldest living single people in history," Jesse chuckles.  
  
"Not to mention the oldest living virgins," Elizabeth laughs. Jesse blushes faintly.  
  
"Still a bit of a prude, are you?" Elizabeth asks upon seeing Jesse blush.  
  
"I am not a prude," Jesse retorts, "I'm just sensitive."  
  
"You're a prude and you know it," Elizabeth argues, "and Alex and your siblings are just as bad."  
  
"I'm surprised Alex hasn't found anyone," Jesse says, "after all, he was the heartthrob of the Clans six thousand years ago."  
  
"I remember all the girls trailing after him once they reached puberty," Elizabeth giggles, "it was funny seeing him so flustered all the time."  
  
"It was the same for Adam and Laci," Jesse chuckles, "a lot of the guys were after Laci, but they stopped once she beat one or two senseless. As for Adam, he ended up having to master every invisibility spell he could get his hands on to escape his adoring crowd."  
  
"Why weren't you ever trailed like your brother and half the guys in your Clan?" Elizabeth asks, "I've always wondered about that."  
  
"Because I constantly insulted them until they left me alone," Jesse replies evenly, "you were the only one who I didn't insult, and for the life of me I can't figure out why I didn't insult you before we got to know each other."  
  
"Probably because you simply noticed something special about me," Elizabeth says with a saccharine smile.  
  
Jesse frowns in disgust while Elizabeth bursts out laughing. Finally, Elizabeth brings herself back under control and becomes completely serious.  
  
"So, has the time finally come?" she asks.  
  
"It has," Jesse replies, mirroring Elizabeth's seriousness, "the prophecies all point to this period of time as being when everything will come to a head. The forces of Darkness and Evil are coming forth and gaining strength."  
  
"How long do we have until the battle reaches its peak?" Elizabeth asks.  
  
"According to the prophecies, sometime within the next three decades," Jesse says, "the others who are to help us are alive now and of age to help. The New Age Mage, the Heart of Truth, the Creator of a Dynasty, and the Lost Warrior are all within this city."  
  
"What about the Shadow?" Elizabeth asks, "and the Warrior of Power? Those five and the Shadow are our only hope for possible successors to our power."  
  
"I have not been able to locate the Shadow," Jesse replies, though his eyes grow troubled at the mention of the Shadow, "the Shadow doesn't seem to exist at the moment."  
  
"Then things look bleak," Elizabeth remarks.  
  
"Not necessarily," Jesse replies, "remember, some of those people spoken of in The Prophecy are there for just one event. And there are many who are not mentioned in The Prophecy or any other prophecy that I or even Alex has seen that will play roles maybe as big as the one I will play were I still under normal circumstances. Now I have power out the wazoo, since normal circumstances no longer apply to me.  
  
"Normal circumstances no longer apply to you?" Elizabeth asks, "what do you mean? If what you say is true, then what kind of circumstances can possibly give you that much power?"  
  
"I have located The Prophecy," Jesse says sullenly, "it names me as the spearhead for the fight against Evil and the Power of Black in the upcoming war."  
  
Elizabeth's eyes widen and she gasps. "Oh Jesse, you don't mean?"  
  
Jesse nods before she can finish. Confusion is now evident in his eyes. "It names me as the Chosen One of the AMC Universe."  
  
"Of just the AMC Universe?" Elizabeth asks.  
  
"Yes, the AMC Universe," Jesse says, "apparently, there are several other universes. Our Universe, the AMC Universe, is the one where the battle of Good and Evil will come to a head. Heroes from the other universes will come here to aid us in our battle, but the villains will help the evil as well. But those of the AMC Universe will be the difference-makers. Those indicated by the prophecies will be the main focal points. But the prophecies are incomplete and The Prophecy is mainly directed at a group known as "the Five"."  
  
"The Five?" Elizabeth asks, puzzled.  
  
"Me, you, Alex, Adam, and Laci," Jesse replies, "it seems that we will be defending all that is innocent and neutral with the help of several others."  
  
"Who are these others?" Elizabeth asks.  
  
"I don't know," Jesse admits, "there isn't even any mention in The Prophecy that I can decipher. The part that had that information was in a language that I don't know and The Prophecy is immune to any and all translation spells."  
  
"So we're gonna be stuck with strangers?" Elizabeth asks.  
  
"Yes, and we're undermanned with just me and you here," Jesse replies, "The Prophecy states that the Five will face a powerful force, and this force will come soon."  
  
"How soon?" Elizabeth asks.  
  
"That's a bit of speculation," Jesse grumbles, "you know how prophecies are. They do not specify specific times. It does mention the dark of the moon, and that's in two weeks."  
  
"It was also on the day you messed with the ki lines, remember?" Elizabeth asks.  
  
"Point, so they may already be here, but just be waiting for the Five to gather to crush us," Jesse admits, "The Prophecy does mention several events happening within the next few years."  
  
"So, what do we do?" Elizabeth asks.  
  
"We wait for the others to get here," Jesse says, "once they arrive we can move on to fulfilling our destinies."  
  
"What about the game?" Elizabeth asks, "the time of the Gathering has come, after all."  
  
Jesse sighs. "I know. We'll still have to fight other Immortals for the Prize, but our destiny has been sundered from the Game. As near as I can tell, the only reason we even became Immortal was because we needed the life experiences of these past 6,000 years."  
  
"Have you found any way to become mortal without forcing us to age to the age we're supposed to be?" Elizabeth asks, "I know you and Alex were looking into that."  
  
"We have been looking for such a way for the last 2,000 years, but I haven't found anything yet," Jesse replies, "nothing that I'd risk using, that is."  
  
Elizabeth sighs and lowers her head. "Have you found out what the Prize is?"  
  
"Surprisingly, yes," Jesse says.  
  
Elizabeth looks up, her eyes wide with astonishment. "How? What is it?"  
  
"We become as we were before we became Immortal," Jesse replies, "in other words, we become mortal again. We can have children. But only one Immortal can have the Prize. But it is not the destiny of one of us to gain the Prize. When our destinies are fulfilled, we'll become mortal and be allowed to live out a natural human life."  
  
"Really?" Elizabeth asks.  
  
"Yes, provided that we aren't killed in the final battle and that we win that fight," Jesse replies.  
  
"How can anyone possibly equal even Laci?" Elizabeth asks, "we've spent six thousand years training, increasing our power to levels beyond the comprehension of most anyone."  
  
"Believe it or not, we're weak compared to some of the evils we may have to face," Jesse replies, "but we will grow far stronger than we already are during the coming battles. Our power will increase a thousand fold, sometimes in a single instant."  
  
"Jesse, have you determined what will be the cue for when the events in The Prophecy will start to come to a head?" Elizabeth asks.  
  
"I've already identified it," Jesse replies.  
  
"When will it happen?" Elizabeth asks.  
  
"The final events were set in motion when I rearranged the ki lines," Jesse replies, "that is how everything was set in motion. However, the next move belongs to the forces of evil. And if I understand correctly, the spawns of Hell."  
  
"Hellspawn?" Elizabeth gulps. Fighting the minions of the purest place of evil was always unsettling. There was no remorse or hint of humanity within a Hellspawn.  
  
"Hopefully not," Jesse replies in distaste, "mostly Imps and Goblins, maybe some minor Demons leading them, but hopefully no Hellspawn."  
  
"Dragons?" Elizabeth inquires.  
  
"I definitely hope not," Jesse says, "if we run into Dragons, we'll be in serious trouble. If they've been enhanced at all by the powers of Hell, then they'll crush us easily."  
  
"So, mainly we'll be dealing with hordes of Imps and Goblins?" Elizabeth asks.  
  
"Yes, and without Alex here, we'll have to kill them and then incinerate their bodies," Jesse replies.  
  
"How soon will we know when they try to wreak havoc?" Elizabeth asks.  
  
"The moment the portals start opening," Jesse replies, "we can teleport there instantly and either try to seal off the portal or stand there, awaiting the hordes and destroy them as they come through the portal."  
  
"That's suicide, even for us!" Elizabeth exclaims, "even if all five of us were together, we couldn't hope to fend off a horde!"  
  
"If we used our magic along with our steel, we can win," Jesse replies, "but we would still be hard pressed. Even we would have a hard time taking out more than a hundred each at a time."  
  
"We'll likely get a full invasion in the first wave," Elizabeth remarks.  
  
"No, they have to wear away the barrier with many portals. They've been working that through necromancers over the millennia, having them summon demons and the like to do their bidding. They can probably get a hundred beings through in the first few tries. After that, there'll be a thousand or so afterwards for a while. Eventually they'll get into the tens of thousands and finally into the full horde."  
  
"Any idea how long before the portals will be large enough for full hordes to come through?" Elizabeth asks.  
  
"Alex might be able to calculate it, but I can't," Jesse replies, "magic theory isn't one of my forte's."  
  
"No, you always let Alex figure that stuff out, and then together you'd employ it," Elizabeth chuckles.  
  
Jesse laughs, then sobers up. "By the way, did you know that you've picked up an admirer?"  
  
"Say what?" Elizabeth asks, puzzled.  
  
"You've picked up a Watcher," Jesse says with a mild distaste.  
  
"I have?" Elizabeth asks.  
  
"Yep," Jesse replies, "you must have been really lazy not to notice him. He didn't pay any attention to me."  
  
"That means he could be your Watcher," Elizabeth says, "if he is yours, then he'd be paying attention to me to find out more about you."  
  
"Point," Jesse replies, "but I've been careful. I may not be as good as Alex at altering my appearance, but I am good enough to give off the appearance of aging. Plus, I put up shields around those few Immortals that I do fight and then I incinerate their bodies if it is to the death. Trust me, I'm careful."  
  
"Needlessly so," Elizabeth smirks.  
  
"Still, he isn't my Watcher," Jesse replies, "I've kept up my infiltration of the Watcher's, same as Methos has on occasion. I am not one of the Immortals that is being Watched in this general vicinity. You, however, are. You fit the description of an 'Unknown Immortal, Caucasian Female' to the "T"."  
  
Elizabeth scowls. Jesse always did have an annoying habit of rarely being wrong. And he was always so smug about it, too. She sighs.  
  
"What are we gonna do about it then?" she asks, "we can't have the Watchers knowing our secrets."  
  
"Not yet, at least," Jesse replies, "they'll learn soon enough. They might be tempted to actually interfere if they knew the truth about us."  
  
"Hard to believe that the very organization we helped found never even knew we were Immortals," Elizabeth smiles wryly.  
  
"Neither did the other Immortals who did the actual founding," Jesse chuckles, "learning how to mask the ability for other Immortals to detect us was a stroke of luck."  
  
"One that may have possibly saved our lives numerous times," Elizabeth agrees, "we still gotta be wary around other Immortals, since they might notice something peculiar if several generations of a family looked alike."  
  
"This is true," Jesse agrees, "but its not like disguising ourselves from generation to generation would be too difficult."  
  
Elizabeth chuckles and agrees. She had used magic and simple cosmetics to change her appearance on several occasions. She'd bleached her hair a decade or so ago for one disguise, making her hair a bleached blonde instead of its normal golden blonde.  
  
"Well, its getting late, so I should turn in," Elizabeth says, "mind showing me my rooms, or do I have to bunk in here?"  
  
"I wouldn't mind you bunking with me if you wanted to," Jesse replies with a grin, "but you do have your own room. Alex, Adam, and Laci each have their own rooms as well, tailored to each of them. Your room is no different, as it is tailored to you. My room is the same way. But you will have to fix things the way you want them to make it perfectly suited to you."  
  
"Sounds good," Elizabeth says, "lead the way, my gracious host."  
  
"As milady doth command," Jesse replies formally. He leads Elizabeth out of his rooms, though suite or penthouse would be a better description, and takes her to the elevator.  
  
"To tell the truth, each of us have a single floor all to ourselves, with every room interconnected on the floors. The uppermost floor is pretty much our war room. My floor is the one right below that and yours is below mine. Alex's floor is below yours, Adam's below Alex's, and Laci's below Adam's. All of the floors from there to the second floor are rooms that I rent out, though I really don't need the money for any of the utilities. Not with a cold fusion reactor a quarter mile beneath the ground for power, an underground lake for pure water, and I own several farms so the pantries are always stocked for the general tenants and Pierre's Bar though there is a kitchenette in each room."  
  
"Sounds like this place has it all," Elizabeth remarks as they get into the elevator.  
  
"If this place came under siege, it could survive a ten year siege," Jesse says dryly, "forty years if we went on rations."  
  
"You know that there's only been a few armies in history who had been willing to lay siege for that long," Elizabeth says.  
  
"The Greek army that laid siege to Troy comes to mind," Jesse says, "at first, when I heard of the beauty of Helen, I thought it could have been you with a spell to change your hair color."  
  
"And when I heard of how powerful Heracles and Achilles were, I though you had gone glory-seeking," Elizabeth retorts.  
  
"And that was one of the few times we were both wrong in the same time frame," Jesse adds. He pulls out a key made of pure gold and inserts it into the keyhole and turns it.  
  
Jesse opens the door, opening it so that Elizabeth could see almost the entire room all at once. "Your quarters, milady."  
  
Elizabeth steps into her room. She had to admit, Jesse knew her better than anyone. Her suite was designed after every single one of her interests, all blended perfectly and fashionably.  
  
"You know Jesse, you wouldn't know good fashion when it comes to clothes if it came up and bit you on the ass, but you could make King Solomon look like a pauper in a matter of months if you went into interior design," Elizabeth says as she carefully takes in every detail of the main room.  
  
Jesse laughs. "Yeah, I probably could, though I think you should notice that my fashion sense has improved."  
  
"You hired someone to teach you about fashion," Elizabeth accuses.  
  
"Now why would I do that?" Jesse asks, "fashion is always changing. Did you know that several of the old fighting styles are radically different today from when we learned them, despite bearing the same name?"  
  
"Yes, I have noticed," Elizabeth replies, "and just admit it. Every decade or so you hire someone to teach you about modern fashion."  
  
"All right, I'll admit it," Jesse grumbles, "but its every twenty years that I hire someone. I used to be able to go for a century or four without worrying about fashion. I miss the good old days."  
  
"Yes, but would you really give up air conditioning?" Elizabeth asks.  
  
"I know ice magic," Jesse replies, "I've never been bothered by a hot summer's day that much."  
  
"Neither have I, but its kinda draining keeping up a small zone of cool air around you nonstop during a summer in the Sahara," Elizabeth says.  
  
"You got a point," Jesse admits, "but I still miss the old days. Living with the rest of the Clans, even though I was an outcast for being a bastard. Training and eventually becoming the best warrior and second best wizard in all of the Clans. I just miss everything, you know? It's close to the time of our birthday, and the anniversary or the day we became Immortals."  
  
"You're feeling a bit melancholic, that's all," Elizabeth says, hugging Jesse, "we all feel like that for a while. How many times have you become a hermit to get away from the Game? Four, five times? Each time lasting centuries, as I recall. We've all done it. At some point in their Immortality, every Immortal just goes away for a while. Some even go to Sanctuary, that holy ground where the Watchers keep those who just want to leave it all forever. Or at least leave until they and one other are the only ones left."  
  
"Sanctuary has been destroyed," Jesse says, "the third highlands Immortal, Jacob Kane, found it and destroyed it in his ongoing torture of Connor Macleod, who had gone there after his last home had been blown to bits, also an act of Kane."  
  
"Narto is dead?" Elizabeth gasps. Narto Salamor had been an old friend of hers and Jesse's back during the French Revolution. He had been around for about fifteen hundred years already. They had led him to believe that they were each only about two hundred years old. A hundred years after they had met him, he went into Sanctuary after his wife was brutally murdered by another Immortal. He had gone in after he had gotten his revenge, which only took him two and a half minutes.  
  
"Sadly, yes," Jesse replies, "Duncan eventually took Kane's head, though he also took Connor's head. From the reports by Joe Dawson, Duncan's Watcher, he was forced to do it. Connor was just too tired to go on."  
  
"How sad," Elizabeth murmurs, "he was only about five hundred years old, and yet he had had such a troubling life. Poor guy."  
  
"Life just enjoys torturing the Highlanders," Jesse says, "Duncan's lost so much over the years as well."  
  
"But it doesn't enjoy torturing the Highlanders nearly as much as it enjoys torturing us," Elizabeth quips.  
  
"Not true," Jesse says, "it just seems like that because we remember centuries the way most people, even Immortals, think of years. And we think of millennia the way other Immortals recall centuries."  
  
"A curse of having lived for so long?" Elizabeth asks.  
  
"Or a perhaps a way for the powers that be to keep us from going insane from the passage of time," Jesse replies.  
  
"It's always a possibility," Elizabeth says, then yawns.  
  
"Sleepy?" Jesse asks, "I can leave so you can get some rest."  
  
"No, stay," Elizabeth says, "it's been a long time since we've been less than five hundred miles from each other. I appreciate you're company."  
  
With that, Jesse and Elizabeth settled down and talked until Elizabeth went to sleep. Creating a blanket out of thin air with his magic, he carefully covers Elizabeth's sleeping form with it.  
  
"Sleep well, milady," Jesse says softly before he settles down on the floor and goes to sleep.  
  
And watching from the window, floating motionlessly, is a figure cloaked in black robes. His eyes momentarily flash an unholy black, then his gaze softens on Elizabeth's sleeping form. He turns his gaze to Jesse.  
  
"Soon, my friend, you shall join those whom you dearly miss," the watcher says, "soon, you shall die, and so will all those you hold dear."  
  
The floating figure teleports out, leaving behind a mark on the window that Jesse could easily trace to him.  
  
~~  
  
Well, how do you like this chapter? This story has a possibly limitless number of possible chapters. No fooling! Though this can actually be true of any story, depending on the skill of the author, but this is one that could have no limit due to the way it will be written and the way the plot will work. It'll take a few more chapters for things to pick up, but once they do, everything will be great. Jesse and Elizabeth of the Five have made their definite appearances, as well as one other mysterious person who is most likely evil. I hope someone tries to guess which one of those evils that were mentioned in the Prologue. No guarantee that this person will be revealed in the next chapter, but I will tell those who are correct that they were correct.  
  
Also, if you're registered onto FanFiction.net, be a pal and sign in. I don't care about flames. I treat them all as constructive criticism and respect the opinions of the reviewers. I respect everyone's opinions. And please please please please review. I adore reviews. 


	4. Chapter 2: Night Out on the Town

The next morning, Elizabeth wakes up to a yell of frustration. She opens her eyes to see Jesse removing the glass from the window and then replacing it with a single word of magical power.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"Just that one of those under the power of the Power of Black was watching us last night and I didn't even realize it," Jesse replies sourly as he examines the symbol etched into the glass.  
  
"What's that?" Elizabeth asks.  
  
"The symbol of one of the mightiest evils to ever live," Jesse replies, "he's a master assassin. He's like nothing I've come up against before or since I met him. He holds limitless potential."  
  
Now that puzzled Elizabeth. "Limitless potential? So what? Everyone has limitless potential."  
  
"No, he can actually achieve his limitless potential," Jesse explains, "he is nothing more than a soul. He goes around, finding powerful warriors and evicting their souls and taking up residence. But from each possession, he carries over the power he had from all of the previous possessions. His power can grow from that of a normal mortal human to equaling us when we died in a matter of days. He destroyed his entire village. He almost got me, but the Power of Silver took steps, I think. But every so often, I meet him again."  
  
"What is his name?" Elizabeth asks.  
  
"Shidoshi Hidosi," Jesse replies darkly, "he is from a small village in Japan. He's been kicking around for the last three thousand years. He can still match us in every known skill except possibly magic. He knows how to manipulate his life energy, his ki, to grow more powerful. Add that to already fathomless natural strength that he carries over from each possession, and you've got a very powerful enemy. I've been tracking him down for the last three millennia to destroy him."  
  
"How can you destroy a spirit?" Elizabeth asks.  
  
"I'll banish him somewhere," Jesse replies, "or force him to move on to the afterlife. Whichever one he follows, that is. Personally, I may just try and send him to Hell since there's a basic concept of it in most religions, so it might pull in victims from all religions."  
  
"Evil is evil," Elizabeth agrees.  
  
"It's not an evil place," Jesse replies, "just its inhabitants are evil. It is more a place of good than anything else. It holds the souls of unworthy people who cannot get into Heaven or Nirvana or whatever you believe in. It punishes them for their wickedness and when the Second Judgment comes, they have a chance to make it. If they don't make it, then I guess they're screwed."  
  
"Where do you think we'll end up?" Elizabeth asks.  
  
"I've never thought about it," Jesse admits, "whatever happens, happens."  
  
"So, Shidoshi is in the area then?" Elizabeth says, pointing at the symbol in the glass pane in Jesse's hands.  
  
"He was last night," Jesse replies, "luckily, there are plenty of powerful spells that keep evil out of the House. I've lowered them within Pierre's Bar and the kitchen, and strengthened them everywhere else. Except for the Bar, nothing can get in or out without my knowledge."  
  
"Jesse, how many Immortals are in this city?" Elizabeth asks.  
  
"Hmm, probably less than ten," Jesse says thoughtfully, "why?"  
  
"I sensed three different Immortals on my way here inside the city," Elizabeth replies, "one was a female who felt like she knew some magic. I think she was physically seventeen."  
  
"And how old was she actually?" Jesse asks, "you've always been better at scanning women than me, Alex, or Adam. You and Laci are just plain good at it."  
  
"But you, Alex, and Adam could scan the guys better than we can," Elizabeth points out, "the skill is likely gender oriented, since you would know those of your own gender better than someone of the opposing gender."  
  
"Too true, too true," Jesse agrees, "so, wanna get cleaned up and go down to the Bar for breakfast? My treat."  
  
"Of course," Elizabeth says, "I haven't had a decent shower in days."  
  
"Mind if I join you?" Jesse asks with an impish grin as he ducks Elizabeth swat.  
  
"Aren't we taking this relationship a little fast?" Elizabeth inquires, "I only found out that I was your girlfriend last night."  
  
"I only did that for Pierre's sake," Jesse replies, "I like throwing him off balance. So far, its been incredibly hard to do. You probably threw him off balance eating red Moblin meat and teaching him how to prepare it properly when you can't properly cook it."  
  
"That was fun to see," Elizabeth agrees, "sorry for saying you were my boyfriend to get those guys to leave me alone. If I had appeared available, those idiots would never have left me alone until you showed up."  
  
"Actually, I'd like to talk to you about that," Jesse says, "I really didn't mind. But perhaps next time you get in a situation like that, perhaps you don't need to lie when you say you have a boyfriend."  
  
"Oh, why is that?" Elizabeth asks. She knew exactly where this was going. After knowing Jesse practically since she was born, she could read him like a book.  
  
"Well, I was wondering," Jesse begins, but then gets flustered, "there's this event at the local skating rink, and I was wondering if you'd like to, ah, well."  
  
"Jesse Plunk, are you asking me out on a date?" Elizabeth demands, a sparkle of mischief in her eyes. Jesse blushes crimson on the spot.  
  
"I'll take that as a yes, as usual," Elizabeth giggles, "of course I'll go with you."  
  
Jesse's shoulders sag as he sighs in relief. "You know, I haven't been that nervous since the Salem Witch Trials."  
  
Elizabeth chuckles. "That time period was worse for me than it was for you, you know. I am female, after all. Not only that, but many is the time that I got burned at the stake because I was accused of being a witch because of my beauty."  
  
"Jealousy has ruined many an empire," Jesse says, "it's a blasted shame. You know, they were right about us being witches, sort of. We did and do know powerful magic. We probably could raise demons. But we'd only raise them to destroy them."  
  
"Yep," Elizabeth agrees, "say, how long until this event at the skating rink?"  
  
"5 pm," Jesse replies.  
  
"Think you could give me a guided tour of either the city or the House?" Elizabeth asks.  
  
"Sure," Jesse grins, "which would you rather have first?"  
  
"We can save the tour of the city till tomorrow, since we're on a time schedule today," Elizabeth says, "so you can give me a tour of the House since it would take less time."  
  
"You sure about that?" Jesse grins, "there's more under the House than there is around it."  
  
Elizabeth arches and eyebrow. "Very intriguing. Then show me around the town."  
  
"As thee wish, milady," Jesse says with a flourish bow, "but first, lets get cleaned up."  
  
"Yes, I really need a shower," Elizabeth says, wrinkling her nose at the smell of days on the road.  
  
"So do I," Jesse says wryly, "I spent a good deal of yesterday working on various spells, strengthening the magical defenses of the city and the House. I'm still tweaking the positions of the ley lines."  
  
"That's hard work," Elizabeth says, "isn't AMC City on a major ground star?"  
  
"The whole freaking planet is a literal ground star," Jesse grumbles, "but there is a higher concentration in this immediate area. The House is connected to every major ley line on the planet, as well as most of the minor lines. With the sheer power the lines carry, it's a wonder the very air doesn't crackle."  
  
"Its almost overloading my senses," Elizabeth says as she admires the work Jesse had done with the lines of natural magic that criss-crossed the planet. They intersected in a powerful amplification pattern. She winces as she sees a familiar pattern.  
  
"One misplaced spell could erupt all of the ley lines and destroy the planet, you know," Elizabeth comments, "and I see a few minor flaws in the intricate patterns."  
  
"Those are intentional," Jesse says, "and they are not flaws. If you look more closely, you'll see that they do not directly connect with the other patterns. If you look at the larger scale, you'll find that they form the finer details of some very powerful patterns."  
  
Elizabeth takes another look and her eyes widen. The amount of power that these patterns would give were near-infinite! How could Jesse have possibly put them together on his own?!  
  
Elizabeth finally realizes that she is trembling. Finally, she gains her voice. "H-how did you do this? Even the me, you, Alex, Adam, and Laci would be hard pressed to do this."  
  
"I told you, I now possess a connection to the Power of Silver," Jesse replies, "even the faintest trickle can increase a persons abilities to an unbelievable lack of limit."  
  
"So you're omnipotent?" Elizabeth asks.  
  
"Nope," Jesse replies, "far from it. But my potential is limitless. Actually, its always been limitless, but with the Power of Silver I've been greatly furthered along in my abilities."  
  
"So now it's no longer me just barely trailing behind you," Elizabeth remarks, "now you're above and beyond what the rest of us are capable of."  
  
"I'm sorry," Jesse says softly, "but it is necessary."  
  
"Bah," Elizabeth snorts, "we all knew it would happen someday. Its just that its still a shock."  
  
"Well, my increased power only manifests itself when directly facing the forces of evil," Jesse says, "or only when it is absolutely needed. Other than that, my abilities are unchanged, though I may have a bit more energy to pour into my spells. It takes me longer to fatigue, though that may be from my body having gotten used to the stress I put on it setting up these spells."  
  
"I'm surprised you messed with the ley lines in the first place," Elizabeth comments, "one wrong move and you'd have obliterated the planet, and maybe all of existence."  
  
"But I didn't, and I had explicit instructions from various books," Jesse replies, "if I hadn't, then the way things were set up, evil would have had the upper hand. The ley lines had been slowly shifted over the millennia since the fall of the Atlantis to give evil the upper hand. Every six thousand years, they will be in perfect harmony to give either good or evil harmony. Six thousand years ago on our birthday, they were almost completely against us. If the Power of Silver had not intervened and made me an Immortal, good would be hard pressed to win now with the balance in its favor. And because of the link that had been established between you, me, Alex, and my siblings to give me the strength to stand up against the Black Doom, the four of you became Immortals as well."  
  
"So we have lived these past six thousand years because you were needed?" Elizabeth demands indignantly.  
  
"Partially, yes," Jesse replies evenly, "but you all were needed as well. I'd have lost my mind long ago due to the slow drone of the centuries passing by."  
  
"Who's to say you didn't lose your mind?" Elizabeth teases.  
  
Jesse grins wryly. "True, but I haven't completely lost it."  
  
Elizabeth wrinkles her nose. "Well, you can tell me more while you're giving me a tour of the city. Now go bathe. You stink."  
  
Elizabeth shuffles Jesse out of her apartments and closes the door. Jesse wisely keeps it to himself that she smelled far worse than he did at the moment. But since he didn't want to be turned into a frog, he let it slide. He heads up to his rooms and bathes and then hunts up some good clothes.  
  
When Jesse gets back to Elizabeth door, he finds her waiting for him in a bright blue and red tee shirt and jeans. Her long golden blonde hair was tied back in a pony tail. But what caught Jesse eye was her expression. She was not happy.  
  
"How did you know my measurements?" Elizabeth demands.  
  
"Simple," Jesse replies, "remember that dress I had made for you so you could accompany me to King Louis the XI's ball? I remembered your measurements from then. By the way, that dress is in the back of the closet, if you ever have need for it again."  
  
Elizabeth purses her lips. "Well, I can't call you a pervert then. But you could have just cast spells on them to make them fit me."  
  
"You'd have spotted those instantly," Jesse replies, "and then gutted me for being insensitive. Did you notice the spells shifted the clothes in the closet to show what you wanted?"  
  
"I did," Elizabeth says, "nice work on those. But am I mistaken, or was there one garment that didn't change, no matter what?"  
  
"Did you take a look at it?" Jesse asks apprehensively.  
  
"It was the same style of battle garment that we wore in our fight against the Black Doom," Elizabeth says.  
  
"It would be the exact same garment, but those outfits have long since been battered beyond repair even by us, or rusted away," Jesse replies, "so I just made new ones. These have the best protective spells even I can come up with without Alex's help, or the combined efforts of the five of us."  
  
"Are they as good as the old stuff?" Elizabeth asks.  
  
"Better," Jesse replies, "they have all of the same protectiveness of the old stuff, but with many new spells to fortify its defensive properties. But each one is specialized to protect against what we cannot protect well against. Such as for you, its built around warding off the cold. You could walk into a room chilled with liquid nitrogen and not even flinch."  
  
"And yours has perfect climate control, doesn't it?" Elizabeth teases.  
  
"Yep," Jesse grins.  
  
"You never did like the changes in temperature," Elizabeth giggles, "six thousand years and you don't like winter or the dead heat of summer."  
  
"I probably wouldn't mind too terribly if I didn't get caught in a blizzard or stuck in the midst of a jungle with mortals every century or two," Jesse huffs.  
  
"Come one, I'm just teasing you," Elizabeth says, "come one, show me around town. Show me the hot spots."  
  
"I just hope we don't attract too much attention," Jesse says.  
  
"What, don't frequent the hot spots very often?" Elizabeth asks.  
  
"That, and it'll be a surprised showing up anywhere that has people who know me with a woman," Jesse replies evenly, "and there'll be looks of envy from the guys at having such a beautiful woman at my side. Of course, a lot of the women will be giving you dirty looks."  
  
"Like I care," Elizabeth huffs, "if I got you, I don't care what they say."  
  
"You really mean that?" Jesse asks.  
  
"Of course, ya big lug," Elizabeth says, rolling her eyes, "we've been friends for almost our entire lives. I know you better than anyone, even Alex. You know me better than anyone. I know that I got myself a good catch."  
  
Jesse frowns. "You just made me sound like something you went fishing for."  
  
Elizabeth laughs. "Well, this has to be a record for the most patience in fishing, ever. How long has it taken me to reel you in? 6,011 years, isn't it?"  
  
"Since we were children," Jesse smiles, "let's go. There's a lot to show you, and there is that event at the skating rink tonight."  
  
Despite being a practiced anti-socialite, Jesse knew where every major hot spot in all of AMC City teens to hang out, as well as every place that is ideal for a battle between good and evil, or between Immortals. They didn't encounter any of the other resident Immortals within the city, but they knew they were there.  
  
The two were dressed for comfort, Jesse in denim jeans and t-shirt with a forty inch walking stick in his right hand. Elizabeth was also dressed in jeans and t-shirt, but she had a floor-length coat on as well.  
  
"That's the skating rink?" Elizabeth asks in dismay.  
  
The building in question was four stories tall, though it looked more like five. It also had three basement levels. The uppermost floor contained one of the world's foremost arcade's, while the floor just below it had a ice skating rink. The second floor held a rink for the special hoverskates that had recently been developed by one of Microsoft's subsidiaries. The three basement floors alternated between being used for paintball and laser tag. Tonight was the grand opening of the lowest floor as well as the addition of the newest laser tag supplies by another of Microsoft's subsidiaries.  
  
"You wouldn't happen to have anything invested in this place, would you?" Elizabeth asks Jesse.  
  
"Who, me?" Jesse replies, trying to feign innocence. Elizabeth whaps him in the back of the head as a response.  
  
"Okay, so I still can't get you to believe one of my lies," Jesse replies sourly, rubbing what he was sure would develop into a bruise before his Immortality healing and regenerative spells took care of it.  
  
"You know Jesse, I'm fairly sure I've been here before," Elizabeth remarks as she looks up in the sky, seeing familiar exact positions of stars.  
  
Jesse just smiles mysteriously and leads Elizabeth to the skating rink.  
  
"Hey Jesse!" a teenage girl calls out. She had reddish-brown hair that reached her shoulders and a small peppering of freckles here and there around her nose. She wore a bright green t-shirt and jeans, close to form fitting but not quite.  
  
"Ah, Carrot, how are you?" Jesse asks as he shakes the hand of the girl identified as "Carrot".  
  
"I'm doing fine," Carrot replies, "but what are you doing here? You hardly ever leave the House."  
  
"I'm showing my girlfriend around the city," Jesse replies, "and this is a hot spot for teenagers."  
  
Carrot turns to look at Elizabeth, surprise clearly evident on her face. "Jesse actually has a girlfriend? We thought he just wasn't interested, since he's denied it enough to where we can believe that he's not gay."  
  
Elizabeth laughs. "He was like that when we were growing up. Does he still blister the ears of any girl foolish enough to flirt with him?"  
  
"And how!" Carrot chuckles, "so, what's your name?"  
  
"My name is Elizabeth," Elizabeth replies.  
  
"So, you've known Jesse since he was a child, eh?" Carrot asks, a slightly mischievous glint in her eyes, "what was he like?"  
  
"Well, he used to be afraid of girls instead of blistering their ears with insults," Elizabeth jokes, "if any girl besides me even talked to him, even his own cousins, he'd run off as fast as he could. I was the exception because me and Jesse are only a few seconds apart in age."  
  
"Really, wow," Carrot says, "which of you is older?"  
  
"Me," Jesse says, "by eighteen seconds."  
  
"Incredible," Carrot gasps, "so, you're here for the festivities?"  
  
"I'm here for the grand opening of the new laser tag and paintball floor as well as the official donation of the new laser tag supplies," Jesse replies, "and since I like messing with the press, I brought Elizabeth along. I can't wait to see the headlines: Professed Batchelor Seen With Date!"  
  
Carrot laughs while Elizabeth frowns. She glares at Jesse. "Did you bring me here just for your games with the media?"  
  
"Actually, no," Jesse replies, "I didn't think of the media until just now."  
  
Elizabeth sighs and shakes her head. "I should have figured that. Just don't do it again or you'll regret it."  
  
Jesse gulps. "Yes dear."  
  
Carrot chuckles. "Well, I gotta be going. See ya later boss."  
  
With that, Carrot runs off inside the Skating Rink.  
  
"Boss?" Elizabeth asks.  
  
"I own the store that she works at," Jesse replies, "I've invested in a lot of other businesses in the area as well. I've put a lot of work into this part of the world, investing a lot of time and money as well as blood and sweat to make this area perfect for the battles to come."  
  
"So you've done nothing but been a Warrior and prophecy fulfiller these last six millennia?" Elizabeth asks sadly.  
  
"Not completely," Jesse grins, "a few mental suggestions inlaid to the brain and you can leave people to go about these business with only a small amount of persuasion afterwards. Besides, I enjoyed myself many a time. The 1960s come to mind."  
  
Elizabeth bursts out laughing. "Yes, those were the years, weren't they? You enjoyed being a flower child, didn't you?"  
  
"No, I took that decade to rest and relax in Japan," Jesse replies.  
  
Elizabeth snorts. "The Japanese are so uptight that you can't possibly rest or relax there."  
  
"I wanted the peace and quiet," Jesse replies, "cleaning up a lot of World War II's aftermath was a pain. Between that and my slow upkeep of turning this town into AMC City, the city mentioned in the Prophecy, I was getting as short-tempered as Adam."  
  
"And so you retreated to the Land of the Rising Sun to revel in the silence," Elizabeth sighs, "why not just find some deserted island and stay there?"  
  
"Because I'm a busybody," Jesse replied evenly, "I took that break to go abroad and learn new things. I wanted to be among people, too, and the Japanese are so old fashioned that they rarely change culturally."  
  
"They have in the last few decades," Elizabeth points out.  
  
"Western influence," Jesse waves off, "but enough of that. Let's go on in and enjoy ourselves. I'll set you up with a pass so you won't have to pay every time you come here to have fun."  
  
"That sounds like fun," Elizabeth says, hanging onto Jesse's arm, "I've always loved skating of every kind."  
  
"Didn't you once try out for the Olympics?" Jesse asks.  
  
"That was back in ancient Greece, and it was you who signed up," Elizabeth retorts, "though you did look cute doing those tryouts in the buff."  
  
Jesse blushes beet red. The problem with Elizabeth knowing him for so long that she knew every single on of his faults, and every one of his embarrassing moments. She knew every awkward moment he had growing up, knew almost every secret he had, and knew exactly how to cheer him up when his spirits were down. Of course, that usually consisted of beating the living daylights out of him until she literally beat him to death or he started to fight back.  
  
As the two of them walk into the Skating Rink after paying for Elizabeth's pass, the sense of a nearby Immortal comes to them.  
  
"You are blocking the ability for other Immortals to sense you, right?" Jesse whispers.  
  
"I am," Elizabeth replies softly, "any idea who it is?"  
  
"Unless its someone new, which I doubt it, its probably Heather," Jesse replies, "she's roughly sixty years old. She's physically sixteen and a lot of trouble. Good with a sword though. She was taught by Connor Macleod."  
  
"The elder Highlander?" Elizabeth asks in surprise, "I didn't know he took students."  
  
"He rarely took students," Jesse replies, "and now he's dead. Duncan took his head so that their combined might could stop Jacob Kell, an Immortal slightly younger than Connor who has been dogging his steps ever since an incident a year or so after Connor became Immortal."  
  
"Oh," Elizabeth sighs sadly, "I'll miss him. He had the attitude to outlast us all, but I guess it finally wore away at him."  
  
"He was a great man when he was younger," Jesse says, "and one of the best swordsmen I have ever seen."  
  
"I've only seen a few other Immortals besides us who are as good with a blade as he was," Elizabeth says, "Duncan Macleod, Methos, Kronos, Caspian, Bryan, Ramirez, and the Kurgan. Silas was just as good, but he used an axe."  
  
"And all of them but Duncan and Methos are dead," Jesse says, "Kurgan took Ramirez's head, Connor took Kurgan's head, Methos took Silas' and Duncan took everyone else's."  
  
"Duncan defeated Caspian and Kronos?" Elizabeth asks, surprised.  
  
"He did," Jesse replied, "Duncan may very well become the last of us. He has the skill, and the heart. He's undergone a Dark Quickening and was returned the good after it with the help of Methos and the Holy Spring."  
  
"Methos knows the location of the Holy Spring?" Elizabeth asks, stunned.  
  
"He did," Jesse replies, "in another lifetime, I showed it to him."  
  
"You know, he does know about the five of us," Elizabeth says, "and Cassandra knows of us as well."  
  
"Methos thinks we died millennia ago," Jesse replies, "and Alex blocked Cassandra a couple centuries ago."  
  
"Not bad," Elizabeth muses, "but you know that even Alex can't block someone as powerful as Cassandra forever."  
  
"Not without help, he can't," Jesse grins, "I reopened our sub-psychic link and linked us all into the spells casting. It'll last another millennia, and then we'll just need to reopen the link and reaffirm the spell."  
  
"Jesse, lets quit talking shop and enjoy our time here," Elizabeth says, "this is a date, isn't it?"  
  
"That it is, milady, that it is," Jesse chuckles as he leads Elizabeth around. They switch their shoes for hoverskates and head for the second floor. There weren't many people there, since the use of the hoverskates was expensive and not many could afford them yet. Jesse was planning to wait a while before lowering the price of the hoverskates, but there wasn't much use being gotten out of them. Hoverskates had the advantage over normal skates and in-line skates in that if you could skate with normal or in-line skates, you could instantly be able to use hoverskates.  
  
"Hey Jesse!" a feminine voice calls out. Jesse and Elizabeth turn to see a pretty teen with auburn hair skating in their direction.  
  
"Hey Heather, whats up?" Jesse asks.  
  
"Same old same old," Heather replies, "who is this?"  
  
"This is my girlfriend, Elizabeth," Jesse replies with a smug grin.  
  
"You have a girlfriend?" Heather asks, somewhat stunned. She laughs. "This'll definitely stop those rumors that your gay."  
  
"It had better," Jesse says sourly, "I'm getting tired of those rumors."  
  
"So, you're here for the opening of the new floors?" Heather asks.  
  
"Yep," Jesse replies, "I have the unfortunate pleasure of serving in instead of a member of the Board of Directors."  
  
"You're always the one who stands in for the Board," Heather says thoughtfully, "in fact, whenever a member of the Board is supposed to be somewhere, they send you instead."  
  
"I'm their general lapdog, flunky, and go-getter," Jesse replies a bit evasively.  
  
"One would think that the Board is just a fabrication and you're the one running everything," Heather laughs. Jesse laughs with her, though Elizabeth can tell that it was a forced laugh.  
  
"Well, I'll be seeing you later," Heather says as she takes off, expertly sliding along the floor in the hoverskates.  
  
"She hit the nail on the head, didn't she?" Elizabeth asks once Heather was out of earshot.  
  
"Not quite," Jesse replies, "I'm merely the one really running the show. I coached Bill Gates into the founding of his companies and just run things behind the scenes. Stock market investments make me extremely rich and of course there are all those treasures that I have stockpiled all over the world. There have been a few tomb robbings of some of the stuff I shoved into some tombs of pharaohs like Ramses and the seven or eight pharaohs that followed him."  
  
"And yet the rest of us are doing just as well," Elizabeth smirks, "minus the stock market. So tell me, have any parts of the Prophecy come to pass?"  
  
"Just Master Gerim teaching us the ways of the Immortal," Jesse replies, "he was known as The Ancient, and was nearly as old as we are now when he died."  
  
"Master Gerim was a part of the Prophecy?" Elizabeth gasps.  
  
"As it turns out, he was one of my predecessors as Chosen One," Jesse replies, "a few other parts have come to pass. The annual re-banishment of Ahriman. He got his ass kicked by Duncan, though Duncan's latest protégé Richie Ryan lost his head when Ahriman was re-released."  
  
"Same old technique?" Elizabeth inquires.  
  
"Same old technique," Jesse nods, "ghosts of old enemies and the like. And Duncan has more dead archenemies than any other Immortal, even us."  
  
"Its amazing that he has lived this long," Elizabeth remarks.  
  
"He's only four hundred years old, including his years as a mortal," Jesse replies, "still, it is amazing that he has lived this long."  
  
"How much longer until you need to go and start getting ready for that opening of the new level to this place?" Elizabeth asks.  
  
Jesse checks his watch. "Um, about five minutes ago."  
  
Elizabeth just stares at Jesse. He grins sheepishly. "Well, I've been having such a good time that I lost track of time."  
  
Elizabeth sighs. "Same old Jesse. Come on."  
  
"I still can't believe you lost track of time!" Elizabeth scolds as she and Jesse head home.  
  
"But I was having a great time," Jesse replies with a hint of a whine.  
  
"You lost track of time," Elizabeth repeats.  
  
"But I had a very lovely lady distracting me!" Jesse protests, "I couldn't help but lose track of time!"  
  
"Flattery will get you nowhere with me, Jesse," Elizabeth replies evenly, "you damn near made a complete fool of yourself, you know that?"  
  
"I always do," Jesse replies, "a highly competent, yet socially inept gofer is my cover."  
  
"Not amusing, Atalantari," Elizabeth replies acidly. Jesse gulps. When Elizabeth calls a person by their surname, or Clan name, then you might wanna check out the local cemetery for a nice place to be buried.  
  
"What's gotten you so mad?" Jesse asks carefully. He knew Elizabeth well enough that this little stunt couldn't have gotten Elizabeth so riled up.  
  
Elizabeth just growls softly and walks on. Jesse just sighs. He hoped it wasn't 'that time of the month', as most modern teenage males cursed it. Despite being Immortal, they were still human beings, with all that entailed save that they did not lead normal lives, or have normal lifespans.  
  
A group of punks come out from an alley as Jesse and Elizabeth are a block from the House. An immediate sense of danger comes to the two Immortals.  
  
"Hey, good lookin', wanna have some fun?" the leader of the group asks Elizabeth.  
  
"Get lost," Elizabeth replies as she loops her arm around Jesse's.  
  
"I think you misunderstand," the leader says as the rest of the punks surround Jesse and Elizabeth, "I didn't say you had a real choice."  
  
The leader of the punks laughs, opening his mouth in a predatory grin to reveal fangs. Vampire fangs. The other punks grin open-mouthed, revealing that they too were vampires. Jesse and Elizabeth were not impressed.  
  
"Got any wood on ya?" Elizabeth asks Jesse.  
  
"Just this," Jesse replies with a grin, indicating his walking stick, "but we don't have to rely on that, now do we?"  
  
Jesse twists part of his walking stick and draws out a thirty-two inch sword. He grins as he crouches into a defensive position.  
  
"Nice blade, not your usual standard," Elizabeth says as she eyes Jesse's blade. She unhooks her arm from Jesse's and reaches into her coat, drawing out a beautiful rapier with a gilded hilt and a thirty-nine inch blade.  
  
"Can't conceal a broadsword in a walking stick, and I don't want to make certain people suspicious by wearing a coat like yours," Jesse replies, "we'd better make this quick before your Watcher comes along."  
  
"Agreed," Elizabeth says as she and Jesse move into defensive positions. Going on the attack against vampires when you're outnumbered ten to two is insane, even for a pair of Immortals as old and powerful as Jesse and Elizabeth were.  
  
Three of the vampires charge Elizabeth, who idly sidesteps and knees one of them in the groin before leaping over another charging vampire, slicing off the third vampire's head mid-air. The decapitated vampire turns to dust.  
  
Five more vampires charge Jesse, who flips over the vampire directly in front of him and dropkicks one of the other charging vampires. He then spins around and decapitates one of the other charging vampires, the vampire turning to dust upon decapitation. He then thrusts the rest of his walking stick, in reality his sword's sheath, through the rib cage and heart of another vampire.  
  
The seven remaining vampires regroup, now knowing that they are were not dealing with ordinary people. Vampire hunters, perhaps? Or something even more dangerous. Whoever they were, it will be difficult taking them down. But they were outnumbered seven to two. The vampires each pull out a weapon of some sort, ranging from machete's and switchblades to the leader drawing a wazikashi, a Japanese short sword. Three of the remaining vampires surround Elizabeth and attack her systematically while the other four, including the leader, gang up on Jesse.  
  
Jesse's sword darts around, parrying knives, punches, and the wazikashi with relative ease while Elizabeth easily takes on the three vampires after her. Just over six thousand years of near-constant combat has honed their fighting skills to an instinctive level, perhaps even beyond that. The two Immortals fight flawlessly, taking on their attackers with complete and utter ease. A small burst of light erupts from Jesse's left hand, blinding three vampires attacking him and enabling him to decapitate two more in the blink of an eye. He then forms a small ball of fire and lobs it at the vampire attacking him that was not wielding the wazikashi. The fireball explodes, taking the vampire with it, turning him to dust.  
  
Jesse turns to face the lead vampire, something almost akin to pity in his eyes as he faces his opponent. The lead vampire blinks away the last bit of blindness, and is surprised to see three more piles of dust where his fellow vampires had been.  
  
"You bastard," the vampire snarls, "you'll pay for that."  
  
The lead vampire leaps at Jesse, hacking and slashing, trying his hardest to kill the seemingly invincible human.  
  
Meanwhile, Elizabeth just blocks any edged weapon the three vampires attacking her try on her and follows up with vicious punches from her left hand and brutal kicks from both legs. Fairly soon, all three of her opponents are nursing injuries ranging from bruises to cuts to one disembowelment. The disemboweled vampire just stuffs his innards back into his gut and takes off. However, Elizabeth will have none of that. She summons up some of her magical energy and throws it at the fleeing vamp. The energy rips the vampires head off, turning it to dust instantly.  
  
Elizabeth turns to face the other two vampires and smiles viciously at their stunned faces. They had not expected this. These two were worse than vampire hunters! They knew how to use magic! The two vampires try to run, but Elizabeth's right hand darts out, her sword almost snaking around the neck of one of the two vampires and its own running momentum decapitates it, turning it to dust. The moment that vampire begins to turn to dust, Elizabeth flicks her wrist and her sword sinks into the neck of the other fleeing vampire, decapitating it as well. As it turns to dust, Elizabeth sheathes he sword.  
  
The leader of the vampire's was old, somewhat. He was the oldest of the gang of vampire's and was nearly a century old. However, a century had not been enough to give strength to his blood. And his sire had not given him much of his own strength. His sire had not been a strong or old vampire either. But the last of the gang of ten vampires was the strongest of the ten. But he was now facing a swordsman who could use magic and dusted nearly half of his gang on his own.  
  
He lasted less than a minute.  
  
As Jesse sheathes his sword once again and secures it in place, he grins at Elizabeth.  
  
"Not bad for a first date, ne?"  
  
Elizabeth just stares at Jesse before bursting into a fit of giggles.  
  
~later, at the House~  
  
"That was entertaining," Elizabeth says as she plops down into one of the chairs in her section of the House.  
  
"Very invigorating," Jesse agrees, "one thing I've always loved about fighting vampires. They're stronger than most Immortals, even when they're young. They can take a beating like an Immortal and they can die like an Immortal. And above all, they don't make a mess when you kill them."  
  
"Not only that, but we generally end up fighting other Immortals at night and fighting vampires makes for excellent practice," Elizabeth says, " have you ever incapacitated a vampire and then looted him before dusting one?"  
  
"I would have done that tonight if not for the risk of being found by a Watcher," Jesse replies, "I still managed to loot them of their cash though. They never even noticed me picking their pockets."  
  
Jesse produces a roll of bills as thick as two fingers, all of the bills apparently of high value as well. Jesse tosses it to Elizabeth.  
  
"Spending money for you," Jesse replies.  
  
"What about a birthday present?" Elizabeth asks.  
  
"That will come later," Jesse replies, "besides, you've gone for centuries without getting a birthday present from me."  
  
"And you always have a spectacular gift for me when we next meet," Elizabeth replies.  
  
"It's a surprise for later," Jesse replies mysteriously, "I also notice that you're in a much better mood."  
  
"That fight allowed me to vent some stress," Elizabeth giggles, "but I'm still mad at you?"  
  
"Whatever for?!" Jesse demands, exasperated.  
  
"If you can't figure it out for yourself, then I'm not telling you," Elizabeth replies acidly. Jesse just sighs. Elizabeth appeared to just be in one of her moods.  
  
"How long before the others get here?" Elizabeth asks.  
  
"Where'd you come from?" Jesse asks.  
  
"None of your business," Elizabeth retorts.  
  
"Oh well," Jesse says, "it's time for the five of us to get together anyway. The 6,000th anniversary of our becoming Immortals has already passed. But I can't help but feel that it is somehow connected to the Prophecy."  
  
"Got a copy handy?" Elizabeth asks, "we can pore over it until midnight."  
  
"No thank you," Jesse grunts, "I've looked it over enough from our birthday to you got here to last me for a while. I was looking at it yesterday before I went down to the Bar."  
  
"Well then, why don't we go down to the bar and have some fun?" Elizabeth suggests.  
  
"I know an excellent way to spook everyone there," Jesse says, grinning, "lets order Red Moblin Meat and plenty of it, secretly telling Pierre to prepare the final part himself in the kitchen."  
  
Elizabeth groans. "Why must you always want to mess with peoples' minds?"  
  
"Because its fun?" Jesse asks impishly. Elizabeth giggles in spite of herself.  
  
"Come on, you," Elizabeth admonishes, "let's go get something to eat down at the Bar, and NOT mess with peoples' minds."  
  
"Do we have to?" Jesse mock whines, earning a whap in the back of the head for his impudence.  
  
"Yes, we do," Elizabeth scolds, rolling her eyes. This guy was the oldest and most powerful human to ever live? They were in big trouble when the final battle came.  
  
~~  
  
Note for you Highlander fans: I know that Connor Macleod took Kurgan's head at the end of the first Highlander movie, and that that ended the Game, but this is my own blend of the movie and the TV show. The animated cartoon doesn't take place yet, nor will it. Connor took Kurgan's head in New York in the mid eighties, and then he moved around the world for the next decade until the events of Highlander: Endgame. The Game won't play a large part in this story, but there will be many references to the past. There are other forms of Immortality here, but the Highlander style is the coolest in my opinion. Also, several Immortals may appear, ranging from Duncan Macleod to Methos to Amanda and Cassandra. Richie, of course, is dead. There may be a flashback or two with him in it, as well as some other now-dead Highlander characters, such as Hugh Fitzcairn and the three deceased members of the Four Horsemen.  
  
The vampires here aren't from any singular place, like Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel, Vampire the Masquerade, or Marvel Comics (i.e., Blade). They are just sort of a compilation of various sources. Decapitation, sunlight, fire, and wood through the heart are common things to kill them, I ignore garlic, and I'm currently undecided on holy water and crosses, but sanctified ground they cannot enter. They have superhuman strength, agility, speed, and reflexes. They have an excellent sense of smell, sense of hearing, and night vision.  
  
Also, this chapter turned out to be a LOT longer than I had anticipated. 20 pages long with the 12 pt font of Time New Roman. And believe it or not, this isn't even the longest chapter I have ever written.  
  
Well, please review. I'd greatly appreciate it. 


	5. Chapter 3: The Third Warrior

A week passes and Jesse has shown Elizabeth all of the House, including the training rooms and the various armories. The amount of stuff that Jesse has set up is impressive, and would surely balance things in their favor during the upcoming war. But two people, or even the five they knew they had, would not be enough. They needed to find the other members of the Prophecy and train them. Otherwise, they would have no chance at winning the coming battle.  
  
Jesse and Elizabeth are sitting in Jesse's room, watching TV and snuggling on the couch when the worry finally overcomes them.  
  
"Jesse, I'm beginning to get worried about Alex and your siblings," Elizabeth says.  
  
"Frankly, so am I," Jesse replies glumly, "we know they're still alive, we would have felt their deaths. But something is amiss."  
  
"Perhaps you threw something out of balance when you shifted the Earth's ley lines," Elizabeth suggests.  
  
"I sure hope not," Jesse says, "if I did, then we're in serious trouble. But I don't think I did. Adam's never been the best correspondent, neither has Laci."  
  
"It runs in the family," Elizabeth remarks dryly.  
  
"True," Jesse admits, "and Alex isn't that good a correspondent either. So perhaps they're just too busy trying to tie down loose ends wherever they are."  
  
"Jesse, you told me Adam was living with monks," Elizabeth points out, "he probably should have arrived first. Alex was in Rome, and you know how much he hates to leave that city."  
  
"He misses Julius," Jesse says, "I still can't believe Alex helped him conquer a good portion of Europe."  
  
"This coming from the man who sacked Troy?" Elizabeth inquires.  
  
"Touché," Jesse admits, "I concede your point. But Alex loves Rome. One of the most ancient cities in the world. Former capital of one of the most powerful empires since ancient Atlantis."  
  
"And a place that our dear friend helped build," Elizabeth finishes, "few other Immortals can boast they helped build a city."  
  
"I can," Jesse says, "I helped AMC get built. But still, I am worried about them."  
  
"So am I," Elizabeth says, "but at least you don't have to worry about how much your siblings have grown. They'll never age. Modify their physical appearance a bit every century or so, but never age."  
  
The couple sits in silence, their worry now out in the open as they console one another. A few minutes pass before Jesse starts up another conversation.  
  
"Elizabeth, do you wonder what our lives would be like if we weren't bound in the Prophecy, if we hadn't become Immortals and if the Black Doom hadn't come to the land of the Clans?"  
  
"I do," Elizabeth replies softly, "me and you would have probably gotten together a whole lot sooner. We'd have had a family and grow old, watch our kids grow up and start their own families. We'd be happy, and normal."  
  
"Are you sure we'd have been able to get married?" Jesse asks, "have you forgotten what my status was among the Clans? I was a bastard, and had no rank beyond what I could earn, and even the most of what I could earn I would never have been able to ask for your hand in marriage."  
  
"I haven't forgotten," Elizabeth replies, "but you would have been able to earn the highest distinctions. You would have earned the right to ask for me to be your wife. I know it. You were the best among us."  
  
"No, Alex was better than anyone at magic," Jesse says, "he surpassed even the legends of Atlantis in his magical might. We surpassed him in feats of arms, but he surpassed us in magic."  
  
"He and I were pretty much equal," Elizabeth says, "my physical prowess matched up against his magical prowess well enough to where I could beat him two out of three bouts."  
  
"And you could beat me one out of three," Jesse adds, "and Alex could also beat me one out of three. So could Adam and Laci."  
  
"Adam and Laci could beat me one out of three as well," Elizabeth continues, "they could also only beat Alex one out of three. And Laci could beat Adam one out of three. But no one else could beat any of us. Not even the Champions of the Clan Scar."  
  
"I was viewed as the best, but the only distinction someone in my position could have earned to be able to ask for your hand in marriage was the title of a Warrior of Atlantis," Jesse says, "and no one has passed those trials since the fall of Atlantis. The Atlantean blood has diluted too much for anyone to be able to pass them. Even our own blood is too diluted."  
  
"You would have done it," Elizabeth says, resting her head on Jesse's shoulder, "I know it."  
  
The couple sits in silence for the rest of the night, taking comfort in each others familiar presence.  
  
The next day, Jesse and Elizabeth are roaming around AMC City together, enjoying one another's company. They stop at an ice cream place and order double-scooped cones, Jesse's of mint chocolate chip and Elizabeth's of orange sherbert and vanilla. They walk hand-in-hand to the nearby park to sit and enjoy one another's company.  
  
The sense of an Immortal being nearby, an old and powerful Immortal, fills their senses. They turn around to see a lanky young man with brown hair cut into a bowl cut and bright green eyes. He was wearing a brown duster over a white t-shirt and denim jeans. They could see the outline of a katana in the folds of the cloak. Or perhaps not a katana, but a weapon like a katana, the little brother of the katana, the shorter wazikashi. He did not look that old, perhaps not even in his twenties, but if he was an Immortal then he could be centuries, even millennia old.  
  
"Well well well, it took you two a while, but it looks like you're finally a couple," the Immortal says. Recognition sparks in Jesse and Elizabeth's eyes as they realize who it is.  
  
"Alex!" Jesse and Elizabeth rush over to their friend, whom they have not seen in decades. Not having a beard and long hair had changed his appearance greatly.  
  
"Alex, how have you been?" Jesse asks, clapping his friend on the back.  
  
"Pretty good, man," Alex grins, "how'd you manage to reconfigure the ley lines?"  
  
"Wouldn't you like to know," Jesse smirks, "I'll tell you later. Why are you so late?"  
  
"Hard to retire from the Knights Templar," Alex replies, "so, how long you two been going out?"  
  
"A little over a week," Elizabeth replies, "glad you're finally here. Did you hear from Adam or Laci on the way here?"  
  
"Not a peep," Alex frowns, "they haven't shown up yet?"  
  
"Nope," Jesse replies, "Adam was in Thailand at a monastery last I heard. He was working to control his temper."  
  
"Good for him," Alex comments, "hope he succeeded. Or at least lessened it. No sign from Laci?"  
  
"Riding around the American continents on the motorcycle she was given back in the Nineteen Thirties," Jesse replies, "not positive where she was when I started working the ki lines and the event lines."  
  
"So we just gotta wait?" Alex asks.  
  
"Yup," Jesse grins, "by the way, it seems that our dear miss perfect has gotten sloppy over the years."  
  
"Oh?" Alex asks, an eyebrow arched, "what's happened?"  
  
"She picked up a Watcher," Jesse replies evenly, "picked him up as she passed through Chicago."  
  
"Chicago?" Elizabeth asks, "that's where I started getting trailed?"  
  
"She was there when a group of rogue Watcher's took the head of another," Jesse explains, "she got the poor guys Quickening."  
  
"I figured that's what happened," Elizabeth says glumly, "but I thought the rogue Watchers were done for with the death of James Horton?"  
  
Jesse's face contorts in a look of disgust. "They were, until one of the Immortals whom Horton failed to get, though not for lack of trying as he beheading the man's Immortal wife in front of him and he got her Quickening. He then proceeded to track down everyone with the Watcher's mark. Almost started a war between Immortal's and Watcher's."  
  
"How was it stopped?" Elizabeth asks, "you stepped in?"  
  
"Actually, it appears that there are many destiny and fate lines going through the Highlander," Jesse grins, "he's done a lot."  
  
"Duncan Macleod again?" Elizabeth asks, arching an eyebrow.  
  
"Yup," Jesse says, "it seems that dear Duncan Macleod of the Clan Macleod is a very powerful Immortal. He's defeated two of the Four Horsemen, Bryan Adams one of the best swordsmen I have ever met, and Jacob Kell. Kell has taken the heads of over six hundred Immortals and even broke the rules."  
  
"Which ones?" Alex asks, curiosity evident in his voice. Few Immortals could have ever claimed to have taken the heads of over three hundred Immortals. Only a handful had taken the heads of six hundred, the Five among them. They only knew of six others to have done so, and the only other one still alive was Methos. Jesse and the Kurgan had been the only Immortals they knew who had taken the heads of over eight hundred Immortals, and the Kurgan was now dead, a fact for which Alex felt he was indebted to Connor Macleod for. Alex wasn't sure if he would have had what it took to beat the Kurgan had they ever fought.  
  
"Broke the one on one rule," Jesse replies, "had several Immortals working for them, including Jin Kei."  
  
"Jin Kei was too honorable to resort to that!" Elizabeth protests. They had known Jin Kei several hundred years ago, during one of the last times the five of them had been together. He had shown them the newest glaive techniques, and they had shown him some of their best sword techniques.  
  
"Don't know what Kell did to him, but he did work with Kell," Jesse says sullenly, "however, he never actually fought in a multiple on one fight against another Immortal. He was bested by Duncan Macleod, though Kell took his head. And the heads of the other Immortals that had been following him and almost took the head of Duncan's one wife."  
  
"Oh yes, I remember her," Elizabeth says softly, "I showed her the ropes of Immortality. Led her to believe I was about six hundred, then led her to believe I was killed. A roughly adequate fighter, so it would be believable for her to be alive still."  
  
"She's a fashion designer," Jesse says, "a popular one at that. She and Duncan are currently trying to start over."  
  
"Good for her," Elizabeth says, "she deserves happiness, though I did share her anger. He should have asked her if she wanted to be Immortal or not."  
  
Jesse smiles bitterly. "Not saying I agreed with what Macleod did, but alls well that ends well."  
  
"Maybe," Elizabeth says, pursing her lips.  
  
"So, care to show me around town, Jesse?" Alex asks, "though you letting other Immortals sense you since you have a Watcher on your tail does explain why I was able to sense you, Elizabeth."  
  
"Yeah, gonna have to figure a way out of this," Elizabeth says, "with this modern era, even if I fake my death in a fight with another Immortal they'll find out fairly quickly. I could let a group of rogue Watcher's catch me, but I'd rather not have to change my appearance."  
  
"We'll figure a way out of this mess," Jesse promises, "I still got contacts on the inside, including Methos."  
  
"Methos is in the Watcher's again?" Alex asks, "what's the youngster up to now?"  
  
The three Immortals share a laugh at that. Methos was the oldest living Immortal known, despite still mostly being a legend, yet the three of them plus Jesse's brother and sister were all a millennia older than Methos.  
  
"Believe it or not, he's now the Chronicler of himself," Jesse snickers, "he's in charge of all the histories of himself and the Watchers that watched him when they could get a Watcher on him."  
  
Elizabeth and Alex both chuckle at that. After calming considerably, particularly from his stint as the Horseman of Death, Methos had become a highly refined gentleman. He did not follow a code of chivalry like Jesse, Alex, and Jesse's brother Adam did, but instead respected people until they lost his respect. Though it was admittedly hard to keep his respect and very easy to lose it. Methos was an enigma, seeming to care not at all one moment then the next sobbing like a brokenhearted child over a friend. Methos had been their friend for a hundred years after he had quit being the Horseman of Death. It was heartening to hear that he was still alive and still a gentleman.  
  
"So, Jesse, care to explain why you fiddled with the Earth's ley lines?" Alex asks.  
  
"It's time," Jesse replies, "things have started happening. Fairly soon there will be a great war between good and evil and the people of Earth will be caught in the middle. With the ley lines reconfigured, things will shift into the favor of good, giving those on the side of good more power during the coming war. And that power will be much needed, and hopefully enough."  
  
"You got it all letter-perfect?" Alex asks.  
  
Jesse nods. "If I didn't, one wrong spell could shatter the entire planet. Literally."  
  
"Explain later," Alex says, "tour now."  
  
Jesse laughs. "Of course, my friend, of course. Shall I show you where the library is first, or wait till later?"  
  
"Now would be good," Alex says. He had always loved libraries. He had had the makings of a great scholar before the clans were annihilated, but now he was an Immortal who had to travel to keep the Watchers and other Immortals from learning of his existence. Even so, he kept up with technology and learning through the centuries, staying highly skilled and very versatile in his abilities.  
  
~hours later, back at the House~  
  
"So, this is my room?" Alex asks as he surveys the rooms he had been given. It was done simple, yet elegant. The colors of the Clan Green decorated most of the suite, while one entire room was a library of great literary classics and books of magic set side by side. Books of ancient lore rested beside books on computers. Another room held a wide variety of weapons, all that Alex was a master of using various styles for. Many he had invented a lot of styles for, and others he had just plain invented in the first place.  
  
"It is," Jesse replies evenly. To one who did not know him, they would think that Jesse was indifferent to what Alex thought of the rooms. To Alex and Elizabeth, they could tell he was extremely nervous, wanting his best friends approval and acknowledgment of how well he knew him. "Is it to your approval?"  
  
"It needs a few personal touches, but beyond that its perfect," Alex smiles, "thank you, my friend. Now, if you'll excuse me, I would like to meditate alone."  
  
"Sure thing," Jesse says, "you can have a tour of the rest of the House tomorrow."  
  
"Okay," Alex says, then Jesse and Elizabeth head for Jesse's private rooms.  
  
"Relieved?" Elizabeth asks.  
  
"Huh?" Jesse asks as he opens the door for Elizabeth to enter his room.  
  
"Relieved that Alex likes your room?" Elizabeth repeats, "I know you were more worried about him accepting your ideas than me, Adam, or Laci."  
  
"Adam and Laci I can order around because I'm their big brother," Jesse says, "you, I value your opinion but frankly, you aren't my best friend."  
  
"No, just the woman your in love with," Elizabeth retorts.  
  
"And madly so," Jesse grins, "but Alex, well, he's my best friend. He knows me better than anyone, even you."  
  
"Gender difference?" Elizabeth inquires.  
  
Jesse blushes. "Well, yeah. He knew I liked you since I first formed feelings that were beyond friendship for you."  
  
"You never told me how long ago that was," Elizabeth says.  
  
"Well, I think I had just been declared the best warrior in the Clan Atalantari," Jesse begins, "you kissed me on the cheek, and it startled me. After that, I started paying more attention to you, and my feelings for you bloomed into what truly began what I feel for you now."  
  
"Since we were thirteen?!" Elizabeth demands, "you've been in love with me since we were thirteen? You've been in love with me for six thousand and five years?!"  
  
Jesse eeps. "Yes."  
  
Elizabeth glares at Jesse angrily, then her glare softens and she smiles. "You are so stupid." She kisses Jesse firmly on the lips for a few seconds. "But you are definitely sweet. And you are now mine. Why didn't you tell me long ago?"  
  
"Because I was afraid of ruining our friendship," Jesse replies, "I'd have much rather kept your friendship than risk losing it. Being Immortal, its hard to form true lasting friendships."  
  
"Oh Jesse, you are such a dunce," Elizabeth giggles, "the reason I kissed you on the cheek in congratulations was because I really liked you. Father and mother had actually already figured you had feelings along those lines for me, and were waiting for us to grow up for you to ask for my hand in marriage. They had told me that they would ignore the status difference. We had been friends for years and they already knew how much we meant to each other. Of course, when they had fully explained it all I didn't stop blushing for nearly an hour."  
  
Jesse blushes. "Your father would have done that? I thought he didn't like me?"  
  
"He didn't," Elizabeth replies bluntly, "in fact, he actually despised the fact that we were friends up until we were sixteen. That was when he told me. He had finally seen past your inherent social status and begged me to forgive him for thinking of you that way."  
  
"Then why didn't he tell me that?" Jesse asks quizzically.  
  
"Because after that he saw you as a boy planning to take his little girl away," Elizabeth giggles.  
  
Jesse blushes. He had seen several fathers despise their daughters' suitors over the years, and Elizabeth's father Jerrick had been no exception in that regard. He was very protective of his daughter. And rightly so. Elizabeth had been the moist beautiful woman in all of the Clans, and had received several offers of marriage.  
  
A cold trickling goes down Jesse's spine.  
  
"Did you feel that?" Elizabeth whispers, worry evident in her eyes.  
  
"I did," Jesse replies, "come on. We need to get Alex. The first wave has come."  
  
The two quickly exit Jesse's rooms and head down two floors to Alex's room. They meet Alex just as he is exiting from his room.  
  
"You felt it too?" Alex asks. Jesse and Elizabeth nod. "What is it? I can't figure it out."  
  
"It's a Demon Gate," Jesse replies, "instead of sending out several Hellspawn, they are opting to send one powerful Demon instead. I did not expect this."  
  
"It's created an imbalance that restricts teleportation," Alex says, "how will we get there in time? Its all the way over in England."  
  
"We take one of the jets," Jesse replies simply, "we have several sorts of air vehicles, all of them with cloaking devices."  
  
"Then lets go," Elizabeth says, "we need to hurry."  
  
The trio enters the elevator and Jesse opens up a hidden compartment to reveal a panel with a several buttons. Jesse enters in a password and then presses one of the buttons. The elevator begins to descend rapidly.  
  
"So, this part of the House is underground?" Alex asks.  
  
"Dude, there's more underground than there is above ground," Jesse says, "actually, the underground is about the size of half of AMC itself."  
  
"Cool," Alex says, "so we can fit a good-sized army down there, huh?"  
  
"If need be," Jesse answers, "there are others in the Prophecy, and we will need the space."  
  
"That much?" Alex asks.  
  
"Of course not," Jesse snorts, "about half the underground base is the armory. Various things are kept here. A lot of it is my own personal depository of weapons."  
  
"So, where is the vehicle that will be taking us to the Demon Gate?" Alex asks.  
  
The elevator comes to a stop. The trio walks out and into the spacecraft hanger. Several ships of various shapes, sizes, and battle uses. Foremost among them was an aircraft that appeared to be about fifty feet in length, twelve feet high no counting the landing gear, and fifteen feet wide. It did not appear to be sporting weapons of any sort, and it did not appear to have any engines. Jesse leads Elizabeth and Alex to the rather small ship, smiling proudly.  
  
"Jesse, is this the ship we'll be taking?" Alex asks, skepticism obvious in his voice.  
  
"It is," Jesse says, "not the best ship by any means, but it will serve our purpose. The better ships will take too long to pull out of storage. I keep this one constantly ready. Her name is the Poltergeist."  
  
"Why'd you give it that name?" Elizabeth asks. As far as she and Alex knew, Jesse despised poltergeists. He had had a very bad run-in with one in the mid-third century. He had been trapped in a cave for three days with one. When he had finally escaped, he had been half-wild with fever. It had taken him nearly a decade to recover from that ordeal.  
  
"Because it can deal much physical damage to an enemy without being seen," Jesse responds, "it has a very, very good mechanical cloaking device, one of the best I have, in fact. It can still be detected by magical and psychic means, but technology and the naked eye cannot see when the cloak is activated. It can get us to England from here in ten minutes unless we use full burn, though I wouldn't recommend that. The cloak can't keep up in an atmosphere during full burn."  
  
"Ten minutes the fastest we can get there once up in the air?" Alex asks.  
  
"You got it," Jesse says, "now lets go."  
  
Jesse hurries to the Poltergeist, quickly followed by Jesse and Elizabeth. He leads them up the gangplank and into the ship itself. The inside of the ship was tidy and neat, looking for all the world like something out of a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode. There was one large room near the back, where it turned out the engines actually were, and it appeared to be a small armory. Various weapons, ranging from swords, axes, and knives to more modern weapons like handguns, rifles, one or two rocket launchers, several grenades, and what, after some inspection, turned out to be a tactical nuke.  
  
"Jesse, why do you have a nuclear warhead in the armory of this craft?" Elizabeth asks as Jesse straps himself in the pilots seat of the cockpit and begins the preflight check-up.  
  
"Because we might just need it," Jesse replies, "and it makes one hell of a trump card. Plus, if for some reason a full Demon Horde showed up a nuke would be the only thing we would be able to take them all out with. The three of us, heck, even the Five of us, could not fight a full Demon Horde of even Hellspawn. They are just too powerful, even for us."  
  
"True, but why a nuclear weapon?" Alex asks as he straps himself into his own seat, "we do have spells that are a lot cleaner that can almost do as much damage."  
  
"And the Hellspawn have mages to counter such spells," Jesse counters, "they have no defense for a weapon of such rampant destruction. And even if we did use it, we could set up a spell beforehand to keep anyone from detecting its use and then use other spells to clean up the damage to the rest of the area."  
  
"Can this plane really get us to England in ten minutes?" Elizabeth asks as she straps into her seat. There was a total of ten seats in the cockpit itself, and there was another area right behind it to hold more people.  
  
"If it doesn't, then I'm resigning my pilots license," Jesse quips as he guides the craft to the tunnel that led out of the hanger. Outside, a small bit of land a quarter of a mile from the House, in the meadow beside it, opened up to reveal the exit to the tunnel. Jesse engages the cloaking device and guides the jet out, picking up speed. A moment after the craft exits the tunnel the exit closes back up.  
  
"And we're off," Jesse says, "next stop, merry old England, home of people with lovely accents and more of a history for getting into trouble than any other nation in the world."  
  
"But not any other person, right?" Elizabeth asks with a teasing grin.  
  
"Careful," Jesse replies with an even grin, "that person you are talking about may be your brother-in-law some day."  
  
"I wasn't aware that it was Adam that I was dating," Elizabeth replies sweetly.  
  
"Hardy har har," Jesse replies sullenly.  
  
"So, what should our plan of action be?" Alex asks.  
  
"I was thinking of making it up as we go along," Jesse answers, "it could be any manner of Demon that has arrived."  
  
"We could be in major trouble, you know that?" Elizabeth says, "I mean, we're going off to face a Demon, and we all know that there are many demons that even if all five of us were here, which we only have three so our group is incomplete, there are Demons that we still would not be able to defeat."  
  
"We need allies, it is true," Alex says, "but where to find them? Not just anyone will do."  
  
"The Prophecy," Jesse answers, "they are to help us anyway."  
  
"Any luck in locating anyone from The Prophecy?" Alex asks.  
  
Jesse grins. "Several, actually. Almost all of the major players in things involving us, which is actually almost everything in The Prophecy. The Ancient was Master Gerim. Remember that I took the head of the Immortal that took Gerim's head? Well, using some meditation techniques I learned in Japan a thousand years ago, I was able to sort through Gerim's memories. He was even older than we are. He was actually a pure Atlantean."  
  
"An Atlantean?" Elizabeth gasps, "he was part of noble Atlantis?"  
  
"He was a noble in Atlantis," Jesse answers, "he his family was part of the basis for Clan Eldryn. In a way, you were related to him, Elizabeth. He was your great uncle, in simplified terms. His older brother was the last King of Atlantis."  
  
Elizabeth gulps. That was unexpected news. Gerim had been strong, and it had come as a surprise that he had been defeated. Then it had been even more unexpected that Jesse went and took the head of the Immortal who took Gerim's head. The rest of the Five had been there for when Jesse lost, and would then take the head of that Immortal. But Jesse had surprised them by defeating the Immortal Kor.  
  
"What about the others?" Alex asks.  
  
"Believe it or not, most of the more important ones are residents of the House," Jesse chuckles, "I won't say who is who, but The New Age Mage, The heart of Truth, The Lost Warrior, and The Bearer of Earth are all residents of the House. I have also located The Creator of a Dynasty."  
  
"Are any of them capable of really helping us?" Alex asks.  
  
"I have watched them, and The Lost Warrior is an Immortal," Jesse says, "she is young, barely half a century old. But she was trained by the elder Highlander, Connor Macleod. She is quite talented with a sword. I have seen her take on three Immortals ten times her age and win. Connor taught her everything he knew, and then sent her traveling to meet other Immortals. She has trained with most of the best sword wielders and martial artists in the last half century, and is among those ranks herself. I imagine that she could very well win the Game."  
  
"You mean she could beat us?" Alex asks.  
  
"No, after The Prophecy is completed, we will become mortal and be able to live our lives as normal people," Jesse answers, "our reward is quite clearly stated."  
  
"That's cool," Alex says, "say, what are we labeled as in The Prophecy? I know every major player in it has a special name."  
  
"You are The Wizard of the Five," Jesse answers, "Elizabeth is the Beauty of the Five."  
  
"Stop, your making me blush," Elizabeth says, her cheeks tinged with pink.  
  
"Um, I was being serious," Jesse says, "though I do agree with the name. It suits you. Adam is called The Knight of the Five, and Laci is The Maiden of the Five."  
  
"And you?" Elizabeth asks.  
  
"I have several names in the Prophecy," Jesse says, "but the one that makes me part of the Five is The Leader of the Five. And the Five lead the forces of Good in the coming battle."  
  
"So you got the most important positions, huh?" Elizabeth asks, "I mean, you're the Chosen One and the bearer of the Power of Silver."  
  
"He's what?!" Alex gapes.  
  
"I am the Chosen One of the AMC Universe and the bearer of the Power of Silver," Jesse answers, "I am also known as The Leader of the Five. But I think its gonna be a hassle that I am not gonna like."  
  
"But you'll do it anyway, won't you?" Elizabeth asks.  
  
"Of course," Jesse scoffs, "its my duty. And we're here."  
  
"I kinda noticed," Alex says blandly. The area around them felt saturated with pure evil, the kind that only the presence of a Demon or a similar creature can create. It felt wholly unnatural.  
  
"I'm setting 'er down," Jesse says as he lands the jet. The craft had VTOL capabilities, so it could land anywhere a large enough patch of ground was as easily as it could a runway.  
  
"Should we say a quick prayer before going out?" Alex asks.  
  
"You spent one too many years in the Vatican, my friend," Jesse says, "I've already made my peace with God, so I'm comfortable with wherever I end up."  
  
"Same here," Elizabeth says as she secures her sword in its scabbard.  
  
"Let's go," Jesse says, grasping the end of his walking stick tightly.  
  
"Um, Jesse, shouldn't you be getting a sword or something?" Alex asks, "I know you can defend yourself with magic, but wouldn't it be prudent to be prepared?"  
  
"I am prepared," Jesse replies, focusing for a moment. The finely made walking stick abruptly changes into a narrow-bladed double-edged sword. The silver blade appeared as smooth as glass, though with a blooding channel found on English broadswords, and even further back the swords the Clans had made, particularly the enchanted ones. Alex had a feeling that Jesse had something to do with that. He had helped develop the blooding channel back into swordsmithing in the English broadswords, just as Alex himself had introduced the katana to Japan.  
  
"That's a well-made sword there," Alex comments, "but how did you make it change? Or was it merely an illusion?"  
  
"You like it?" Jesse asks with an impish smile, "it's the Silver Weapon, a physical incarnation of the Power of Silver. Only the bearer of the Power of Silver, the Chosen One of the AMC Universe, and a few select others are even able to touch it. It is incorporeal in the hands of anyone else, and even then only one or two others can even use its power. I usually keep in the form of a sword concealed as a walking stick, but it's more powerful in its true sword form."  
  
"That is the greatest weapon of the side of Good?" Alex gapes.  
  
"Sure doesn't seem like much, does it?" Jesse grins, "but just you wait. It has a lot of power, and it amplifies magic a thousandfold. Focusing my power through this is what enabled me to redirect the ley lines."  
  
Jesse winces. "This is a powerful Demon we are dealing with. He is redirecting the local ley lines to flow directly into the Demon Gate, feeding it more power. If we do not close the Gate soon, it will reopen enough for another to come through, or perhaps a full Horde of Hellspawn."  
  
"A Horde of Hellspawn commanded by a Demon," Elizabeth murmurs as the jet's gangplank lowers, "that could almost end the world on its own. And if they went into hiding, waiting for other such armies to arise-"  
  
"Then they would be able to overrun the Earth with ease," Jesse finishes, "we must stop this at all costs. And be careful. Remember, a wound inflicted by a Demon last a while, even on us. We would almost be forced to heal as a mortal would."  
  
The trio rushes down the gangplank, only to find the area covered in a whirling darkness. It seemed to shift with the slightest wind, but it also seemed to seep into everything.  
  
"Three little mortals have come to play?" a deep, rasping voice chuckles, "no, not mortals. Humans with long lives. So-called Immortals. Yes, you will be fun to play with. You smell old. Perhaps you will even give me some good sport. Particularly the female."  
  
Jesse growls softly, not liking that last remark. He could feel the Demon's power, and it was great, but he could not gauge it. It was incredibly dangerous, that was for sure. It knew what they were, and how to kill them to keep them dead.  
  
"Return to your home, Demon," Jesse calls out, "you are not welcome here."  
  
"Ah, but Earth is my home, little Immortal," the Demon's raspy voice seemed to come from several directions at once, almost as if there were more than one of it, "I was born of this Earth."  
  
"He's a human who was sent to Hell," Alex realizes, "he condemned himself to eternal damnation for power while in the grip of Hell itself."  
  
"Ah, the tall one seems to know of my kind," the Demon laughs, "no matter. All it does is tell you what is about to kill you!"  
  
The Demon lunges forth, revealing itself for the first time. It was big, perhaps ten maybe even twelve feet tall and it had to weight half a ton at least. Mottled red-orange skin covered its body, a small loincloth keeping it modest, barely. Its head was reptilian, almost like a serpents. Claw- like hands tensed with pure power, and the entire thing exuded an aura of pure malice. Yes, this thing was evil through and through, despite having once been human.  
  
The Demon lunges at Alex, who immediately erects a barrier of magic to block the Demon. The Demon's claws spark against the barrier, but do not penetrate it. It jumps back, surprise evident on its horrid face. Coal- black eyes narrow, focusing on Alex.  
  
"You use the magicks of Atlantis," the Demon murmurs in shock, "you are one the the Five! All three of you are of the Five!"  
  
"That's right," Elizabeth says.  
  
"The Leader, The Beauty, and The Wizard," the Demon murmurs in realization, "so, you have come to face me. Killing you will be all the sweeter."  
  
Without yell, the Demon summons up a pulsating ball of greenish-black energy and hurls it at Alex. It slams into Alex's shield, then spreads over it like ooze.  
  
"If I were you, I would keep that shield up as long as possible, Wizard," the Demon laughs, "that substance will slowly constrict. If it constricts on you, your entire being will be crushed into the space the size of a coconut. Even your soul."  
  
Alex's shield strains against the ooze, trying desperately to get it off of his shield. He changes the shields shape and attempts to expand it, but nothing works.  
  
"That ooze will instantly harden if I should perish," the Demon chuckles, "but two of you against me is tantamount to suicide, even for you."  
  
"We shall see, Demon," Elizabeth says coldly as she draws her rapier and ashes in, slicing at the Demons gut. The sword merely bounces off. The Demon attacks, but Elizabeth does a series of backflips that takes her out of the Demons immediate reach.  
  
"Stand back and use holy magic," Jesse says as he charges in past Elizabeth, the Silver Weapon slicing into the right thigh of the Demon, cutting several much-needed muscles. The Demon howls in pain as black blood seeps from the wound.  
  
Elizabeth raises her right hand, forming a ball of light in it. She throws it at the Demon, hitting it full in the face. The holy light sears into the Demons eyes, blinding it. Jesse takes the opening to slice open the Demons gut and then sink his blade into the Demons chest, the tip of the blade sliding right through the Demons heart like a stick into water. The Demon howls in pain as its eyes roll back into its head and slowly crumples to the ground, dead.  
  
A second later the ooze around the shield Alex had erected hardens, and a second after that it shatters against the intense magical pressure exerted against it.  
  
"Well, that was anti-climactic," Alex grumbles, "and we were worried why?"  
  
"It was a Demon," Jesse replies, "not a very strong one, granted, but a Demon nonetheless."  
  
"Weak," Elizabeth agrees as she sheathes her rapier.  
  
"Bold plan they had, though," Jesse says, pointing to the Demon Gate before sending out tendrils of magic that separate the ley lines flowing into the Demon Gate and setting them back into the course he had previously set them in, "if that Demon had been stronger or kept us occupied for a few more minutes, this thing would have had enough power to bring out a Demon Horde."  
  
Cut off from its source of power, the Demon Gate stops growing and begins to close up again. When it finally compacts in on itself, the energy backlash raises the hair of the three Immortals like a static charge.  
  
"Ugh," Elizabeth groans, "this is gonna take some work getting rid of."  
  
"Let's head home," Jesse says, "it's late there and we need our sleep."  
  
"Yeah, I am a bit sleepy," Elizabeth says, stifling a yawn.  
  
The trio heads back onto the Poltergeist and head home.  
  
Not too far away, a shadowy caped figure watches in amusement. The figure was huge, standing nearly seven feet tall. It wore purple archaic armor, and strapped to its side was a huge broadsword, a blade that reached the chest of the one wearing it. Glowing purple eyes eyed the trio, the three eldest and most power Immortals in existence. And its prey was the oldest and most powerful of them. With a cruel smirk that was barely visible underneath the helmet and the cloak, the figure walks away and is soon consumed by whirling shadows that block it from view. When the shadows clear, the armored figure is gone.  
  
~~  
  
Well, that's another chapter done. Hope you liked it. Now three of the Five are gathered together, and a lot more is known about everyone. And another villain is revealed. He's sortof an original character, but he has a basis in a video game.  
  
Anyway, please review and tell me what you think. I appreciate new reviews a lot. And if you like Dragon Ball Z, check out my stories New Students at Orange Star High and its sequel Warriors Displaced in Time. They are my biggest hits and in my opinion my best stories. 


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